GIFT OF

WRITINGS

OF

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

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WRITINGS

OF

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

EDITED BY

WORTHINGTON CHAUNCEY FORD

VOL. I

1779-1796

gork
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

All rights reserved

,'N

I- ^ / .

COPYRIGHT, 1913,
BY CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.

Set up and electrotyped. Published January, 1913.

J. 8. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

NOTE

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, son of John and Abigail (Smith)
Adams, was born in the North Parish of Braintrcc (now
Quincy), Massachusetts, on July 11, 1767. He died in the
city of Washington, February 23, 1848. More than fifty
years of his life were passed in the public service and almost
one-half of that service was in Europe, as diplomatic repre
sentative of the United States in Great Britain, Holland,
Prussia, and Russia. He resided abroad in the period of the
French Revolution and of Napoleon, and, as intelligencer
to the Department of State, he described fully the events
as they passed before his eyes, seeking the motives of the
actors and the trend of public policy. At an early age,
trained and encouraged by his parents, he kept an almost
daily record of events, and continued it for more than sixty
years, in itself an extraordinary labor to be performed by
one who was so active a participant in the social movements
of his day. He supplemented his official despatches with
letters, quite as detailed but in a different vein, to family
and friends. His correspondence, public and private,
was his own, and at no time of his busy life did he employ
a secretary, even for formal notes. His state papers, legis
lative and executive, were drafted and not infrequently fairly
copied by his own hand. His spare moments were occupied
in poetic composition, in translations from the classics,
from the French, German, and Dutch, and in noting down
speculations upon subjects immediately before him. He

25771 1

vi NOTE

never had an idle moment, and the records of his manifold
activities are full and conclusive.

The first publication from his pen was his "oration"
delivered at Commencement, July 18, 1787, on his grad
uation from Harvard University. Through the agency
of Rev. Jeremy Belknap, this appeared in the Columbian
Magazine (Philadelphia), September, 1787. In June, 1791,
began to appear in the Columbian Centinel of Boston, his
letters of "Publicola," in which he replied to Paine's Age
of Reason. Thereafter and throughout his life he engaged
in many controversies, wrote much upon public questions,
and delivered occasional addresses upon many subjects.
A small part of this controversial matter was printed at the
time, in newspapers, pamphlets, and volumes. A bibli
ography of his published writings, appended to these
volumes, will afford some measure of their extent, variety,
and general interest.

From this great mass of writings a selection only can be
made for these volumes, with a purpose to include what is
of permanent historical value, and what is essential to a
comprehension of the man in all his private and public
relations. Nothing is suppressed which can contribute to
this purpose, and the text is printed as it was written.
Where the material itself is so full and varied, elaborate
annotation would be superfluous. The editor has restricted
his notes to the identification of individuals and indication
of related material. In 1874-1877 the Memoirs or Diary
was published in twelve volumes, by his son, Charles
Francis Adams, and is used in those volumes only when
needed to explain the text. From the correspondence and
state papers the larger part of this selection will be drawn,
and so far as the correspondence is concerned, only a small
part has heretofore appeared in print.

NOTE vii

To Charles Francis Adams, Henry Adams, and Brooks
Adams, grandsons of John Quincy Adams, I owe a debt
which I can never pay. In his particular line and gen
erally, each has been an influence and encouragement to
high endeavor.

WORTHINGTON CHAUNCEY FORD.
BOSTON, November, 1912.

CONTENTS

1779

PACE

May — . To ARTHUR LEE I

Acknowledging gift of a book.

1780

December 21. To JOHN ADAMS 2

His journey to Holland. Lectures and lodgings. A
Brovvnist parson. Purchase of skates and riding needs.
Vacation.

1781

August 21. To JOHN ADAMS ...... 4

The journey to St. Petersburg. The King of Prussia
and Berlin. Courland and condition of the farmers.
Narva.

1783

July 23. To ABIGAIL ADAMS 7

His return from St. Petersburg. Treatment of
strangers in Sweden. Policy of the king. Denmark
and its government. Hamburg and its commerce. The
wine cellars of Bremen.

September 10. To ABIGAIL ADAMS 10

Government of Russia. Landholders and serfs.
Objections to the system of rule. The Court favorites.
Condition of the serfs.

1784
June 6. To JOHN ADAMS ....... 14

Debate in the House of Commons. Comments on
the speakers, Pitt, Fox, and North.

x CONTENTS

PAGE

June 1 8. To JOHN ADAMS 15

Further comments on debates in the Commons. Pitt
and Fox compared.

1785

August 3. To JOHN ADAMS 17

Arrives at New York. Courtesies from Richard Henry
Lee and John Jay. Anxiety to hear from England.
Duties on imports into the States. Fear and jealousy
of Great Britain. The Massachusetts election. Con
tinental Board of Treasury. The French charge to
leave.

1786

May 21. To JOHN ADAMS 21

Williams' lectures on natural philosophy. Books
wanted. Course of study. Humphreys' poem. Prom
ising students. Winthrop and Sewall. Commencement
exercises. Syllogistic disputes. Charlestown bridge.

August 30. To JOHN ADAMS 26

Plans to study law. Character of his college class.
Intrigue in class honors. Has a mathematical part.

December 30. To ABIGAIL ADAMS 28

Popular outbreaks against courts. Irresolution in
the executive. Government will probably be altered.
Is a good republican.

1787

June 30. To JOHN ADAMS 29

Has some relief from employment. A college exhibi
tion. Subject of Commencement oration. The State
election. Paper money. Hancock's bid for popularity.
The "Defence of the Constitutions." The lieutenant
governorship. The Cincinnati.

August 6. To JEREMY BELKNAP 34

On publishing his oration delivered at Commencement.

CONTENTS xi

PAGE

December 23. To ABIGAIL ADAMS 36

At Newburyport with Theophilus Parsons. Opinion
of the law. Popular odium excited against lawyers.
His lodgings. Thaxter's downfall.

1789

June 28. To JOHN ADAMS ....... 40

Law studies and their application. As to his settle
ment. Parsons' expectations. The State election.
Proposed plan of finance by a lottery. The federal con
gress and judiciary.

November — . ADDRESS TO PRESIDENT WASHINGTON BY

THE CITIZENS OF NEWBURYPORT 43

1790

March 19. To JOHN ADAMS 44

The judicial appointments and his own settlement.
Conditions in Newburyport, Braintree, and Boston.
Question of house in Boston. The father's law library.
Political matters. Cushing's appointment.

April 5. To JOHN ADAMS ... ... 49

The federal and the State governments. Cession of
light-houses. Amendments to the national constitution
proposed. Cushing's appointment. Complaints against
the federal government. Assumption of State debts and
Madison's position. Hamilton's report.

August 14. To ABIGAIL ADAMS 55

The Columbia's voyage to the Pacific. Qualities of
a journal.

September 21. To JOHN ADAMS 56

Lawyers of the city. James Sullivan. William Tudor.
Thomas Dawes, Jun. Christopher Gore. Amory,
Wetmore, Otis, and Lowell.

xii CONTENTS

PAGE

October 17. To ABIGAIL ADAMS 59

Elections to Congress. A loan in Europe. His first
address to a jury.

October 19. To JOHN ADAMS 61

Town meeting and selecting a representative. In
crease of commerce and industry. Cultivation of hemp.
Events in France.

1791

June -July. LETTERS OF PUBLICOLA 65

Paine and the Revolution in France.

1792
February I. To THOMAS BOYLSTON ADAMS . . .no

On a committee to reform police of Boston. Report
rejected. History of the measure and his participation.
Austin's opposition. Simple democracy as a govern
ment. Russell assaults Austin. His law practice. In
corporation of the town of Quincy.

February 4. To JOHN ADAMS . . . . . .115

A town meeting favors repeal of law prohibiting theat
rical exhibitions. A counter-petition. The appoint
ment of Dawes to the bench. Opposition of Sullivan
and Dana. The theatre question.

December 8. To JOHN ADAMS 120

Vote for President and Vice-President. Players routed
by the Governor. Error of the Attorney-General.

December 16. To JOHN ADAMS 123

The Presidential election. Mob threaten to pull down
the play-house. His answer to Sullivan. The Governor
and the electors. Establishment of a French news
paper. Attacks upon John Adams.

December 19. "MENANDER" 127

On the theatre incident, a reply to Sullivan.

CONTENTS xiii

PACE

December 22. To JOHN ADAMS 130

Result of the Presidential election. Continued agita
tion on the question of the theatre. Otis and Sullivan.

1793

February 10. To JOHN ADAMS 133

A commercial crisis in Boston. Desires to be uncon
nected with politics. A civic feast.

April — . " MARCELLUS " 135

On Genet's conduct of his mission.

July 29. FROM CHARLES ADAMS .... . 146

His oration on Independence Day. Violence of the
French faction. Judge Peters* decision. Letters of
"Pacificus."

November-December. " COLUMBUS" .... 148
On Genet's diplomatic acts.

1794
January 5. To JOHN ADAMS 176

Newspaper controversy by " Americanus "and " Barne-
veld." Letters of " Columbus " approved and criticised.
Some jealousy displayed. Danger from internal divi
sions. Return of Sullivan.

March 2. To JOHN ADAMS 179

Town meeting on Madison's commercial resolutions.
Fauchet's arrival. Sullivan's attitude.

March 24. To JOHN ADAMS 181

British seizure of American merchant ships. Popular
aversion to war. Attempt to have a second civic festi
val. Adams probably to be governor.

April 12. To JOHN ADAMS ...... 183

Tolerably firm for neutrality. Election of governor.
His law practice and other activities.

xiv CONTENTS

PAGE

April 22. To JOHN ADAMS 186

Sequestration of debts. A direct act of hostility. The
example of the King of Prussia.

May 26. To JOHN ADAMS 189

Petition on snuff and tobacco. The embargo and
peace. Local election.

May 30. COMMISSION TO THE NETHERLANDS . . . 191

July 10. To JOHN ADAMS 192

A speedy departure desired. Ten days allowed.

July 27. To JOHN ADAMS 193

Delayed by Hamilton's absence. Mission limited to
a pecuniary negotiation. Effects upon his own position
and prospects.

July 29. INSTRUCTIONS 198

October 23. To JOHN ADAMS 201

In danger of losing his despatches. Jay's communi
cations on the pending treaty. It is better than war.
Situation in the Netherlands liable to change. Separate
negotiations for peace. Fall of Robespierre. Despotic
rule in Britain. France and Great Britain compared.

November 2. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 209

Peaceful aspect of the Netherlands. Advance of the
French armies. Mission of Fagel and to Austria. Policy
of the Patriots. Private property respected. The
future of his mission.

November 5. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 214

Delivery of his credentials. Reasons for detailing the
forms.

November 7. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . .218

Loan discouraged. Making peace with France. Posi
tion of Great Britain. British feared more than the
French. Intelligence from the armies. Effect of the
Western insurrection in the United States.

CONTENTS xv

PACK

November 9. To JOHN ADAMS 224

Noevidencesof disturbance in the Netherlands. Oppo
sition to the government crushed. Causes of the extreme
debility of defence. People apparently anxious to be
conquered.

November 16. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 227

An audience with theStadtholder. News of the armies.
Arrest of General Eustace. Sentence upon Visscher and
associates. Release of Eustace.

November 19. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 230

Little prospect of a general peace. Britain to continue
the war. Declaration of France as to other countries.
Difficulty of getting intelligence. Conversation with
the Portuguese minister. As to starving a nation.
Effect of a cold season.

November 22. To JAMES MONROE ..... 235

The case of Boylston's vessel, and its importance to
interests of the United States. Burden of additional in
surance on ships. Hopes for a correspondence.

November 24. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . .237

American commerce and treaty with the Netherlands.
Merchants uncommunicative. Contraband articles.
Discriminating duties. Signs of a peace. The Polish
insurrection. Escape of Lafayette. A cockade distrib
uted.

December 2. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . . 241

Effect of rumors of peace. Great Britain to continue
the war. Position of the Netherlands. English refused
admission to Delft.

December 2. To JOHN JAY 244

Conclusion of Jay's negotiation. Desire for peace.
Application of Voltravers.

xvi CONTENTS

PAGE

December 3. To JOHN ADAMS 246

Situation of Dumas and Luzac. No real prospects of
peace. The Netherlands and a protector. Relations
with Baron St. Helens.

December 22. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 248

Meeting with Van der Spiegel. Case of an American
vessel. Reported discontent among the negroes at Dem-
arara. Restrictions on commerce. Conduct of General
Eustace. Consuls in the Dutch West Indies. Case of
Eustace.

December 21. To JOHN ADAMS 254

Commissioners for peace with France. Great want of
money. The Dutch representative to the United States.

1795
January 3. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 255

Application from the Sardinian charge. Reasons for
denying his requests.

Jamiary 7. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . .258

Negotiations for a peace with France. The necessity
for it and the consequences.

January 19. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 260

The French enter Amsterdam. Provisional munici
pality appointed and in charge of affairs. Stadtholder
probably out of the country.

January 22. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 263

Commissioners from the Convention. Order and dis
cipline preserved. Protection of American property.

January 24. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 266

Conversation with Schimmelpenninck. Modifications
of administrative institutions.

CONTENTS xvii

PAGE

February I. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 268

Interview with the French representatives. Exodus of
members of the diplomatic corps. A descent upon Eng
land considered.

February 2. To THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY . 270

Unfavorable conditions for a loan. Interest payable
at Antwerp not sent to that place. Attitude of the
bankers at Amsterdam. Certain incidents connected
with banking operations.

February 5. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 274

Visit to Paulus, President of the Assembly. Reflec
tions on the revolution. Relations with the United
States. A direct commerce with the Netherlands.

February 12. To JOHN ADAMS 276

Advance of the French army. Measure for peace with
France. Entry of French into Amsterdam. Changes
in the city's administration. The provincial government
constituted. Discipline of the army. A convention to
frame a constitution in prospect. Friends in power.
The French representatives and Pichegru. Effect upon
the system of Europe.

February 15. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 285

The Dutch commissioners at Paris. What they rep
resent. Objects of the Revolutionary Committee.
Relative situation of the Netherlands and France.
Address to the Convention. Arrest of Lelyveld. Na
tional independence and sovereignty.

February 19. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 291

Regulation of the import of flour. Acts of the new
States General. Reply of the Convention to the Dutch
Commissioners. Address to the French representatives.
Boundaries of France. System of moderation pursued.
A state of war to continue. Universal suffrage. With
drawal of the French army. The use of English in
official communications. Eustace at Paris.

xviii CONTENTS

PAGE

February 22. To SYLVANUS BOURNE .... 297

Letter from Monroe. A mysterious affair. Will do
what he is able to help Madame de Lafayette.

February 25. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 298

Ministers from Holland to France. Leyden professors
dismissed. Address to the troops of the Netherlands.
Little prospect of a general pacification. Conquest in
view. Dismissal of Van Hees.

March 17. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . .301

Foreign communications interrupted. A tranquil con
dition and changes in government. Naval matters.
Loans demanded of the cities. Fate of the country un
decided. Forms and substance of independence. Cir
culation of paper money.

March 19. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE .... 305

Friendly dispositions towards the United States. Law
prohibiting export of specie. A temporary regulation
and enforcement discretionary. American vessels
stopped at the Texel. Interview with Alquier. Private
and public property. Use of English in official commu
nications.

April i. To JOHN ADAMS 310

Policy of the Patriots, old and new. A convention
for forming a constitution. Presence of the French re
presses disorder. Navy and finances. Neutral com
merce encouraged. Paris Convention takes measures
against dissolution by violence.

April 7. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . .316

All plate called in to be coined. Rumored peace be
tween France and Prussia and the effect. Treatment of
Amsterdam by Assembly. Jealousy among the prov
inces. France will prevail. Military events.

CONTEXTS xix

PAGE

April 10. To THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY . . 321

Interest on the Antwerp loan. Remittances prevented.
Attitude of the Amsterdam bankers. Remittance to
Mr. Pinckney. A new loan out of the question.

April 14. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE .... 326

Outbreak in Paris. Arrest of members of the Conven
tion. Purpose of the commotion. Negotiations between
France and Prussia. Ministers of the Netherlands not
received at Paris. The Dutch republic ruined. Euro
pean intelligence.

April 25. To ABIGAIL ADAMS 331

Popular societies in the Netherlands. Has been asked
to become a member. Has been entirely neutral.
Public opinion in France.

May i. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE .... 334

Causes of recent outbreaks. The Netherlands' rela
tion to France. Stories about the treaty with Prussia.
Rumored restoration of the Stadtholder. Alliance with
France. Spiritof party prevails. The European horizon.

May 4. To JOHN ADAMS . 339

Uncertainties of letters. Gratified by notice of his
first communication. Van Staphorst. Situation of the
American minister. Political future of the Netherlands.
Democracy in France.

May 14. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 344

Secret mission from the French Convention. General
situation in the Netherlands and Europe. The Dutch
navy. Conversation with Sieyes on the Jay treaty.

May 19. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE .... 348

Terms of a treaty between the Netherlands and France.
New election in Amsterdam. Change in policy of Euro
pean cabinets. Neutrality of the United States. Scarc
ity of provisions.

XX

CONTENTS

May 22. To JOHN ADAMS . . 353

Reflections upon his own position. The Dutch-French
treaty interpreted. Centre of combination among the
powers. Intentions of France and the Jay treaty. War
between the United States and Great Britain. France
less cordial to America. Effect of ratifying the treaty.
Cost of French friendship. Internal state of France
critical.

June 24. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE .... 363

Popular societies in the Netherlands. Opposed to
moderation. Their demands at Rotterdam. How
settled for the time. Feeling against former government.

June 25. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE .... 368

Plan for a national convention. Indifference to theo
ries of government. The Rotterdam affair. Treaty with
France ratified. The new French constitution and its
provisions for legislature and executive.

June 27. To JOHN ADAMS 371

Approbation is pleasant to him. No confidence in
Eustace. Insurrection at Paris. Renewed war in La
Vendee. Death of Louis XVII. Naval superiority of
Britain. Forgery and famine. Invective and spirit of tur
bulence. The Rotterdam incident. The new Consti
tution. Has received instructions for his conduct.

June 29. To ABIGAIL ADAMS 380

Austin's defeat for state senator. Answer to the
Chronicle.

July 27. To JOHN ADAMS 381

Proposition for a National Convention. The new
French Constitution. Opposition to the Convention.
Little prospect of tranquillity. Conflict of songs. Mil
itary movements. Future of European monarchies.
Situation in the Netherlands.

CONTEXTS xxi

PAGE

August 15. To SYLVANUS BOURNE 390

The consular office, appointments and salaries.

August 20. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 392

Regulation of passports. Naturalized citizens. Mis
use of the flag of the United States. Consuls and their
emoluments.

August 25. LETTER OF CREDENCE 396

August 25. INSTRUCTIONS 397

August 31. To JOHN ADAMS 400

French Constitution adopted. Sieves' plan of a con
stitution rejected. System of balances. Election of a
new legislature. Dissolution of the popular societies.
Division of the Moderates. French influence in Amer
ica. A national convention. Navy, commerce, and
finance.

September 12. To JOHN ADAMS . . . 408

Ambition and affections gratified by approbation.
Intention of involving the United States in the war.
Europe anti-republican. The Jay treaty. Power of
Great Britain. Connections with France. The new
Constitution. Dependent condition of the Netherlands.
The corps diplomatique. Recall of Van Berckel.
Dumas' vindication.

September 15. To CHARLES ADAMS . . . . .417

The Presidency and John Adams. Revolutions of
public opinion. Treatment of Jay.

October 12. To DANIEL SARGENT 419

Peace the policy of the United States.

October i(>. To \Y. & J. WILLINK AND N. & J. VAN

STAPHORST AND HUBBARD 420

Instructions and sales. Position explained. Payment
of interest to De Wolf.

xxii CONTENTS

PAGE

October 3 1. To JOHN ADAMS 423

Mission to London without attractions. Promotion
in the service. Is satisfied with the situation at The
Hague.

November 4. To CHARLES ADAMS ..... 426

Question of a National Assembly. Aristocracy and
republicanism.

November 15. To TIMOTHY PICKERING .... 427

Randolph and the opposition to the British treaty.
General peace probable. Bread riots and insults to the
king. Measures for his protection.

November 17. To JOHN ADAMS 430

Randolph's resignation. Members of French direc
tory. Position of Sieves. Conditions at Paris.

December 5. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 434

Conference with Lord Grenville. Compensation to
commissioners under the Jay treaty. Questions of con
demned cargoes. Order on American provision vessels.
Compensation for what is taken. Importance of ques
tion to the United States. Delivery of the Western
posts. Reparation for violation of territorial jurisdic
tion. Revocation of Consul Moore's exequatur. Im
pressment of seamen from American ships. Secretaries
to the commissions. Reflections on the matters in con
ference.

December 9. To LORD GRENVILLE 449

His diplomatic character and the presentation to the
king.

December 15. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 450

Attempt to give him a diplomatic character other than
the true one. Search for a motive.

December 16. To SYLVANUS BOURNE .... 453
Attacks upon the President. Randolph's resignation.

CONTENTS xxiii

PAGE

December 19. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . 454

Alienage and residence. Neutral trade. Case of the
Dutch ships. Blockades. Transfer of property. Pot
ash not contraband. Cases before the Lords of Appeal.
No strong reliance on verbal declarations.

December 22. To TIMOTHY PICKERING .... 461

British expedition to the West Indies. Ambition for
maritime supremacy. Interests of the United States.
No commercial liberality in Great Britain. West Ind
ian produce in neutral vessels. Imports of grain.

December 24. To SYLVANUS BOURNE . . 466

Affairs in the United States. Prosperity and neutral
ity. President Washington. Treaties and French in
fluence. Americans and France.

December 29. To JOHN ADAMS 470

On performing a public service. Commercial negotia
tion with Great Britain. Grenville and Hammond.
Relaxation of the navigation laws. The order of No
vember, 1793. Abuse of President and its purpose.

1796

February 10. To JOHN ADAMS 476

Randolph's Vindication. British hostility to the
United States.

March 20. To JOHN ADAMS 478

Peace desired. Great Britain and France to negotiate,
but dread peace. Burke's pamphlet.

April 4. To JOHN ADAMS 481

Anti-neutral views of the French government. A new
French minister and Paine. Randolph and the treaty
obligations. Attack upon Washington. Exciting fear
in ruling men. Remodelling the government of the
United States. The Western posts. Maritime suprem
acy.

xxiv CONTENTS

PAGE

May 30. COMMISSION TO PORTUGAL 488

June 4. To THE SECRETARY OF STATE .... 489

Combination against British commercial supremacy.
Changes in the Netherlands.

June 6. To JOHN ADAMS 490

Effect of resolution on the Jay treaty. French influ
ence and party manoeuvring. Paine's pamphlet on
English finance.

June 9. To CHARLES ADAMS 493

France not favorable to American union. Impor
tance of the union.

June n. FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE . . . 494

His appointment as Minister Plenipotentiary to Por
tugal.

June 15. To MADAME DE LAFAYETTE .... 496

Was unable to comply with her wish, but referred it
to Mr. Pinckney. Anxious to do all in his power for
her aid.

June 24. To JOHN ADAMS 497

The Jay treaty. Surrender of the Western posts.
Good faith of the British government. Danger of
American commerce. Method of English attack. Check
to commercial speculation. Importance of neutral
policy. System pursued by France. Opinion in Amer
ica on European affairs. Importance of orders of Privy
Council.

WRITINGS

OF

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

WRITINGS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

TO ARTHUR LEE1
Q ALLIANCE, MINDEN, May , 1779.

oIR,

I have received a volume entitled "Fondemens de la
Jurisprudence naturelle, traduit du Latin, de Mr. Pestel,
professeur en Droit public a Leyde," which you did me the
honour to send me as a present. I entreat you, sir, to accept
of my sincere thanks for the proof of your attention to me.

1 From the original in the New York Public Library. In November, 1777, Con
gress determined to recall Silas Dcane from France, and on the 28th chose John Ad
ams to be his successor. He accepted the appointment, and on February 13, 1778,
with his son John Quincy Adams, then a boy of ten years old, embarked on the frigate
Boston, lying in the roadstead of Boston. The story of the voyage is told in the
Diary of John Adams, printed in Life and Works of John Adams, III. 94; and the
Ms. log-book of the captain, Samuel Tucker, is in the Adams Mss. As fellow-
passengers were Jesse, son of Silas Deanc, and a son of William Vcrnon, of the Con
tinental Navy Board, both about the same age as John Quincy Adams; also two
French officers returning to France and the French surgeon of the vessel, Nicholas
Noel, of whom the young Adams received some lessons in French. They landed
at Bordeaux, April I, and arrived at Paris, April 8. Six days later the
son was placed with Le Cocur, master of the academy or pension at Passy,
and he went "much pleased with the prospect, because he understood
that rewards were given to the best scholars, which, he said, was an en
couragement. Dancing, fencing, music, and drawing are taught at this school, as
well as French and Latin." Adams, Works, III. 132. Jesse Deane and Benjamin
Franklin Bache, later the editor of the Philadelphia Aurora, were placed in the same
pension. Nearly a year passed when the father resolved to return to America, and
intended to sail in the frigate Alliance, from Nantes. The French government
changed her destination, and after a delay of three months at Nantes and L'Orient,
lather and son embarked on the French frigate Sensible, having as fellow-passengers
the new minister to the United States, M. de la Luzerne, and his secretary of legation,
Barbe de Marbois. Sailing June 17, 1779, the ship arrived at Boston, August 2.

B I

2 THE WRITINGS OF [1780

It was very good in you, to turn my young head to such a
subject so important in itself, and likely to be particularly
so to our Country. I will endeavour to make the best use
of it I can, as soon as I shall be able to comprehend it.

Please to present my Respects to your Nephew, and
believe me with great Veneration, yours etc.

TO JOHN ADAMS

LEYDEN, December 2ist, lySo.1
HONOURED SIR,

Mr. Thaxter and brother Charles wrote both to you
the day before yesterday, and as I had no subject to write

Under date June 20 the father wrote in his Diary : " The Chevalier de la Luzerne
and M. Marbois are in raptures with my son. They get him to teach them the lan
guage. I found this morning the Ambassador seated on the cushion in our state
room, M. Marbois in his cot, at his left hand, and my son stretched out in his, at
his right. The Ambassador reading out loud in Blackstone's Discourse at his
entrance on his Professorship of the Common Law at the University, and my son
correcting the pronunciation of every word and syllable and letter. The Ambassa
dor said he was astonished at my son's knowledge ; that he was a master of his own
language, like a professor. M. Marbois said, your son teaches us more than you ;
he has point de grace, point cTeloges. He shows us no mercy, and makes us no com
pliments. We must have Mr. John." Works, III. 214.

On September 27, 1779, John Adams was chosen by Congress to be minister pleni
potentiary for negotiating a treaty of peace and a treaty of commerce with Great
Britain, and Francis Dana to be his secretary. The French minister offered the
Sensible for their passage, and on November 13 they went on board the vessel in
Boston harbor, with John Quincy Adams, then twelve years, and his brother Charles,
nine years old. They landed at Ferrol, Spain, December 8, and went by land to
Paris, where the two boys were placed in Le Cceur's pension. John Adams, Works,
III. 229. With this journey the Diary of John Quincy Adams really begins, for in the
previous year his father had given him pencil and pencil-book, and told him to note
the events which happened to him, the objects seen, and the persons conversed with
from day to day. He also received a blank-book in which to preserve copies of all
his letters. The record was not complete, and intervals occurred without notes or
letters, with promises of greater industry and perseverance.

1 Beginning with September, 1780, he and his brother Charles attended the Latin
School at Amsterdam, whose history went back to 1342. He notes little of his

i78o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 3

upon I did not write. But I can now give you an account
of our journey.

We dined on Monday at Haerlem, and arrived at Leyden
at six o'clock. We lodged at the Cour de Hollande and saw
Air. Waterhouse * that evening. The next day we went to
hear a medicinal lecture by Professor Horn. WTe saw several
experiments there. In the afternoon we went to hear a
law lecture by Professor PesteL* Each lecture lasts an hour.

Yesterday afternoon we moved from the Cour de Hollande
to private lodgings in the same house in which Mr. Waterhouse
boards. Our address is Mr. &c. by de Heer Welters, op de
langc Burg, tegen over 6 Mantel Huis, Leyden.

I was to day in company with the parson of the brownist
church, who seems to be a clever man. He is a scotch-man,
but does not pray for the King of Kngland.

I should be glad to have a pair of scates. They are of
various prices, from 3 guilders to 3 ducats. Those of a
ducat are as good as need to be, but I should like to know
whether you would chusc to have me give so much.

studies in his "journal," save that he and Ins brother had a separate room for
study, "because we do not understand the Dutch," and every Wednesday and
Saturday they went to their father's lodging for the stated holidays. He was read
ing the Spectator, the Tatlfr,and the Guardian, from which he made extracts in his
journal. John Adams notes in his Diary, January n, 1781: "Was present from
12 to i o'clock, when the preceptor gave his lessons in Latin and Greek to my
sons. His name is Wcnsing. He is apparently a great master of the two langua ;
besides which, he speaks French and Dutch very well; understands little Knglish,
but is desirous of learning it; he obliges his pupils to be industrious, and they both
made great progress for the time ; he is pleased with them, and they with him. John
is transcribing a Greek Grammar, of his master's composition, and Charles, a Latin
one; John is also transcribing a treatise on Roman antiquities, of his master's
writing. The master gives his lessons in French." Jl'orks of John .-Idams, III. 269.
In this month John was matriculated into the University of Leyden, " the most cele
brated university in Europe." Here he remained until he went to St. Petersburg as
secretary to Francis Dana, chosen in March, 1781, to be minister to Russia.

1 Benjamin Waterhouse (1754-1846). - Friedrich Wilhelm Pestel (1724-1805).

4 THE WRITINGS OF [1781

Mr. Waterhouse says that for riding I must have a pair
leather breeches and a pair of boots. I should be glad if you
would answer me upon that as soon as you receive this for
there is a vacancy [vacation] here which begins tomorrow,
and in the vacancy is the best time to begin to learn how to
ride.

In the vacancy there will be no lectures at all, but our
Master will attend us all the while, as much as when there
is no vacancy.

I continue writing in Homer, the Greek grammar and
Greek testament every day. I am your most dutiful son.

TO JOHN ADAMS

ST. PETERSBURG, August 21, 1781, O.S.
HONOUR'D SIR :

We arrived here on Monday the 16/27 inst't, having
left Amsterdam the 7th of July (N.S.) and rode the greatest
part of the way day and night. The distance is about 2400
English miles.

The first place of any consequence we stopp'd at was
Berlin, the capital of the King of Prussia's Dominions ;
this is a very pretty town, much more so than Paris, or
London, as Mr. Dana says ; but it will be still more so if
the present King's l plan is adopted by his successor, for
wherever there is a row of low, small houses, he sends the
owners out of them, pulls them down, and has large, elegant
houses built in the same place, and then sends the owners in
again. But notwithstanding this, he is not beloved in Ber
lin, and every body says publicly what he pleases against
the King ; but as long as they do not go further than words,

1 Frederick II, the Great.

i78i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 5

he don't take any notice of it, but says that as long as they
give him all he asks they may say what they will.

But they have great reason to complain of him, for he
certainly treats them like slaves. Among other things, if a
farmer has two or more sons the eldest inherits all the land
and all the others (when of age) are soldiers for life at a
gros[chen] and a half, which is about two pence sterling per
day, and they must with that find their own provisions ; if a
farmer has but one son he inherits his land. Whenever a vaca
tion [vacancy] happens in any regiment, he chooses one of his
subjects to fill the place, and this subject from that time be
comes a soldier for life ; everybody that is tall enough is
subject to this law. In peace time the native troops are
disbanded nine months in a year, and in all that time their
pay ceases and they must get their living as they can.

There is nothing very remarkable in Dantzic, Konigs-
berg, or Riga ; in coming to this last we pass'd through
Courland, a province which does, strictly speaking, be
long to Poland. But Russia has much more influence
there than Poland itself. In that Province all the Farmers
are in the most abject slavery; they are bought and sold
like so many beasts, and arc sometimes even chang'd for
dogs or horses. Their masters have even the right of life and
death over them, and if they kill one of them they are only
obliged to pay a trifling fine; they may buy themselves,
but their masters in general take care not to let them grow
rich enough for that; if anybody buys land there he must
buy all the slaves that are upon it.

Narva is the last place which we stopped at before our
arrival here. It is a small insignificant town, but will be
always famous for the battle fought there. As to this place,
I have not been here long enough to know much about it;
but by what we have seen of it I think it to be still handsomer

6 THE WRITINGS OF [1781

than Berlin. The streets are large and the houses very well
built, but it is not yet half finish'd, and will require another
century to be rendered compleat.

Just before we got to Berlin, by the carelessness of a
postilion, our carriage overset and broke, so that Mr. Dana
was obliged to buy another there ; but luckily no body was
hurt by the fall.1

Nothing else extraordinary befell us on our journey.
I am your dutiful son.

1 The story of Dana's mission is given in Wharton's Diplomatic Correspondence
of the Revolution, I. 574, and his despatches to Congress are printed in the same
compilation. The French ambassador at St. Petersburg, the Marquis de Verac,
could not speak English, nor Dana French, and young Adams proved of service.
Five years later Abigail Adams met Verac in London, and wrote to her son that
" The Marquis de Verac inquired after you with great politeness : said you were
interpreter for him and Mr. Dana when you were at St. Petersburg." Abigail
Adams to John Quincy Adams, September 27, 1786. Ms. In 1787 the usual allow
ance for a private secretary was given to Judge Dana and paid to Adams. Life
and Correspondence of Rufus King, I. 262. Writing on February 5, 1782,
John Adams said: "It is a mortification to me to find that you write better in a
foreign language than in your mother tongue. Your letters discover a judgment
beyond your age, but your style is not yet formed in French or English." Ms.

He read Voltaire on St. Petersburg, and did not find the description correct in
every particular; and having left his Littleton's Latin-English Dictionary at the
Hague, he desires it be sent to him, as "this is not a very good place for learning
the Latin or Greek languages, as there is no academy or school here, and but very
few private teachers, who demand at the rate of 90 pounds sterling a year for an
hour and a half each day. Mr. Dana don't chuse to employ any at that extrava
gant price without your positive orders, but I hope I shall be able to go on alone.'*
To his father, October 12/23, 1781. In reply to an expression of surprise from the
father he wrote, "There is nobody here but Princes and Slaves, the Slaves cannot
have their children instructed, and the nobility that chuse to have their's send
them into foreign countries. There is not one school to be found in the whole
city." Ibid., January 1/12, 1782. Fortunately there was an English library to
which Mr. Dana subscribed. Here Adams found Hume and Mrs. Macaulay, and
he began to study the German language. As nothing could be accomplished by
the mission, he wisely decided to return to Holland, and in October, 1782, a year
before Dana left St. Petersburg, he set out on his long journey. Leaving the
Russian capital October 30, he did not reach the Hague until April 21, 1783. His

1783] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 7

TO ABIGAIL ADAMS

HAGUE, July 23d, 1783.
HONOURED MAMMA :

It is indeed a long time since I have received any letters
from my friends in America, and I must own I have been a
little behind hand within these two years, in writing to
them. However, I hope they will consider that I have
been all that time almost at the world's end, or to make the
best of it, in such an out of the way place, as made it very
inconvenient for me to write. But, I should think myself
deficient in my duty, if I should let pass the present oppor
tunity, without giving you some account of my travels,
since I left Mr. Dana.

I set off from Petersburg the 19/30 of last October, in

father was at that time at Paris, and Adams began to study Latin and Greek under
C. W. F. Dumas, a man of letters, the editor of Vattel, and secret agent in Holland
of the United States. On his journey he had made some inquiries on the prospect
of commercial relations between the United States and Sweden and Denmark.
The Swedes "are in general good friends to America, but seem to be a little afraid
for their mines; however they arc very well disposed for carrying on commerce
with America, and there is a merchant here named Cedcrstrom, who has a brother
lately settled in Boston. Mr. Eberstcin the first merchant in Xorrkoping only
waits for an opportunity to send some ships. Mr. Brandenburg, in Stockholm,
intends to send a Vessel to some part of America this spring. He desired me to
let him know what would be the best articles he could send, and gave me a list
of the exports of Sweden, a copy of which I have sent to Mr. D[ana], desiring him
to answer Mr. Brandenburg as I was not certain myself about the matter." To
his father, Gothenburg, February I, 1783. "As to this country [Denmark] I
cannot tell what sort of trade we shall be able to carry on with it; however, there
is already a person designed to be as the minister of this court in our country, and
everybody here say they never doubted of the Independence of America; but
things have greatly changed here within these three months." To his father,
Copenhagen, February 20, 1783. Richard Soderstrom came to Boston, and was
consul of Sweden; but difficulties arose in connection with commercial transac
tions of his brother Carl Soderstrom, of Gottenburg. Diplomatic Correspondence,
1783-1789 (Sparks), III. 796.

8 THE WRITINGS OF [1783

company with Count Greco, an Italian gentleman, with
whom I was acquainted, at that place ; and on account of
the badness of the roads and weather, and of our having a
great number of considerable water passages, which had
began to freeze over, did not arrive in Stockholm, the capi
tal of Sweden, until the 25th of November. The distance
is about 800 English miles. I staved at Stockholm about
six weeks, and was much pleased with the polite manner in
which the people of the country treat strangers. Sweden
is the country in Europe which pleases me the most, that
is, of those I have seen, because their manners resemble
more those of my own country than any I have seen. The
King is a man of great ability.1 In the space of one day
from being the most dependent, he rendered himself one
of the most absolute monarchs of Europe. But he is ex
tremely popular, and has persuaded his people that they
are free, and that he has only restored them their ancient
constitution. They think they are free, and are therefore
happy. However, in the interior parts of the Kingdom, he
has lost a little of his popularity, because he has laid some
heavy taxes upon brandy and some other articles.

I left Stockholm the 3ist of December and was obliged
to stop at a small town, called Norrkoping, at about 120
miles from Stockholm, for a fortnight, because of a very
heavy fall of snow, which happened just at that time. I
stopped also about three weeks at Gottenburg, and arrived
at Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark (it is about 600
miles from Stockholm), the I5th of February, of the present

1 Gustavus III reigned 1771-1791. Determining to free himself from the su
premacy of the aristocracy which had so trammelled his predecessors, he gathered
round him a number of young officers, and in August, 1772, defied the Diet and
won his end. He obtained a power which he used for advancing the prosperity
of the people, but the extravagance of his court necessitated burdensome taxation.
He was assassinated by an agent of some of the nobles.

1783] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 9

year. I found there Count Greco, who had taken a differ
ent road from Stockholm. He had taken a place in a vessel,
which was to sail three days after my arrival, for Kiel, a
town in Germany, near Hamburg. Not to lose the oppor
tunity, I had a place in the same vessel, but after having
waited three weeks for a good wind, the harbor froze up,
and we were obliged, after all, to go to Hamburg by land.
The people in Denmark treat strangers with a great deal
of politeness and civility, but not with the same open-
heartedness, which they do in Sweden. The government
is entirely monarchical. But it astonishes me that a whole
people can place at the head of their government such a
man as the King of Denmark,1 because his father was a
king. The hereditary prince, it seems, is, at least, possessed
of common sense, and is regarded in the country as a prodigy,
as he indeed is, if he is compared to his father.

I arrived at Hamburg (which is about 300 English miles
from Copenhagen) on the nth of March. I stayed there
near a month. It is a large city, quite commercial, and
will, I dare say, carry on hereafter a great deal of trade
with America. But its commerce is somewhat restrained,
because it is surrounded by the dominions of the King of
Denmark, and of the Elector of Hanover.2 The Danes
have built a town, at about a quarter of a mile from Ham
burg, which is become now its rival in commerce. The
Hamburgers have named this place Al-to-na, which signifies,
much too near, as, indeed, it is for their commercial interests.

The last city where I made my stay, before I arrived at
Amsterdam, was Bremen, which is another commercial Re-

1 Christian VII, son of Frederick V. Coming to the throne in 1766, he fell into
such imbecility as to be incapable of ruling, and after 1784 the government was
that of his son, the Crown Prince, as regent.

2 George William Frederick, George III of Great Britain.

io THE WRITINGS OF [1783

public, but the city is much smaller than Hamburg. It
was anciently one of the Hanseatic league, and has been in
a much more flourishing condition than it is at present.
There are at Bremen some public cellars, which are famous.
I drank there some Rhenish wine, about 160 years old.
I stayed only four days at Bremen and arrived at Amster
dam the 1 5th, and at this place the 2ist of April, and here
I have been ever since. Hamburg is about 450 English
miles from this place.

Last night, at about n o'clock, Pappa arrived here from
Paris, all alone, only accompanied by a servant. He in
tends to return to Paris in about three weeks.1 . . .

TO ABIGAIL ADAMS

PARIS, September loth, 1783.
HONOURED MAMMA :

As you have ordered me in a letter, which I have lately
received, to give you my observations on the countries
thro' which I have travelled, the following are some upon
Russia ; but, I must previously beg you will remember,
that you say in your letter that you expect neither the
precision of a Robertson, nor the elegance of a Voltaire ;
therefore, you must take them as they are.

The government of Russia is entirely despotical ; the
sovereign is absolute in all the extent of the word.2 The
persons, the estates, the fortunes of the nobility depend
entirely upon his caprice. And the nobility have the same
power over the people, that the sovereign has over them.

1 The son accompanied the father to Paris, where he served as an additional
secretary.

2 At this time Catherine II, who had gained the throne by deposing her weak
husband, Peter III.

1783] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 11

The nation is wholly composed of nobles and serfs, or, in
other words, of masters and slaves. The countryman is
attached to the land in which he is born ; if the land is
sold, he is sold with it, and he is obliged to give to his land
lord the portion of his time which he chooses to demand.
It is commonly two days in the week, I think. Others
make them pay a sort of tax, of two or three rubles a year.
(N.B. that a ruble is four shillings sterling, or thereabouts.)
This makes a large revenue for the landlords, if they have
a great number of serfs, and there are some of the nobles
who have an amazing quantity of them. Out of each five
hundred they are obliged to furnish one to the Empress
every year, and this forms her army. I have been assured
from good authority, that there is one nobleman who
furnishes 1300 men a year to the Empress. According to
that the number of his slaves would be 650,000. Suppos
ing each of these slaves pay him a ruble a year his revenue
will be more than ioo,ooo£ Sterling per annum.

This form of government is disadvantageous to the
sovereign, to the nobles and to the people, For first, it
exposes the sovereign every moment to revolution, of which
there have been already four in the course of this century;
vizt. when Anne, Dutchess of Courland, was set upon the
throne,1 which was the right of Elizabeth, daughter of
Peter the first. This was done by some noblemen, who
wanted to limit the prerogatives of the sovereign, and be
more powerful themselves. And they thought they would
find Anne more ready to agree to their stipulations than
Elizabeth, because she had no right to the crown ; but
she soon overturned all their schemes. For as soon as she
found herself well seated upon the throne, she rendered

1 In 1730. She reigned just ten years, and was much under the influence of
Germans, and especially of Biren, a Courlander.

12 THE WRITINGS OF [1783

herself absolute, by reinstating the ancient form of govern
ment, and banished all those who had made these restric
tions. This was the second revolution. The third was
when Elizabeth dethroned Ivan^ an infant of six months
old, and had him shut up in a tower, where he lived twenty
years, and was then murdered in it. And the 4th, when
Peter the third was dethroned by the present Empress.2
This, I think, is sufficient proof that the government is
disadvantageous for the sovereign. Secondly, as the nobles
all depend wholly upon the sovereign, they are always in
danger of their estates being confiscated and themselves
sent into Siberia. It is commonly the fate of the favorites.
MenzicofT, the Dolgorouckis, Biren, Bestucheff, Osterman,
L'Estocq, all these have been the sport of fortune, for some
time the favorites of the Emperors, and then sent to Siberia
into exile, there to live in misery. The history of Menzicoff
is the most extraordinary, and he did not deserve the fate.
He was born at Moscow. He was of low extraction, and
used to carry about the streets, while a child, pies, and sing
ballads. Peter the first saw him several times, and asked
him several questions. His answers pleased him so much
that he took him to the Palace, and, by degrees, he became
the favorite of the Emperor, who gave him the title of
Prince, and made him General of his Army, etc. At the
battle of Pultowa, he saved the Empire, because a manoeuvre
of his was the means of the battle's being decided in favor
of the Emperor. During the whole reign of Peter the ist
and that of Catherine, he was high in power, but, under
that of Peter the 2d, he was stripped of all his dignities,
his fortune, which was immense, was confiscated, and him-

1 Ivan VI. The uprising, directed against the German adventurer and his
following, occurred in 1741. Elizabeth Petrovna (daughter of Peter the Great)
reigned until her death in December, 1761. 2 In 1762.

1783] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 13

self sent into exile, where he died in misery. This is very
nearly the history of all the others. An author, who has
written upon Russia, (Mannstein's Memoirs of Russia)
says he has seen lands change masters three or four times
in the course of a year. This is certainly not advantageous
for the nobility. And, thirdly, as to the people nobody, I
believe, will assert that a people can be happy who are
subjected to personal slavery. Some of these serfs are
immensely rich, but they are not free, and, therefore, they
are despised ; besides they depend still upon the nobles,
who make them contribute the more for their riches. A
nobleman wants money. If he has any rich serfs, he sends
and lets one of them know that he must have, at such a
time, a thousand rubles (more or less, according to cir
cumstances). This the serf has a right to refuse, but in
that case his landlord orders him to go and work upon
such a piece of ground, so he is obliged either to give the
money, or to go and work. The richer they are, the more
the nobles prize them. Thus a common man costs but 80
or loo rubles, at most; but I have seen a man, who gave
to his landlord, for his liberty, and that of his descendants,
450,000 rubles. This proves the esteem they have for
liberty, even where one would think they should not know
that such a thing exists.

As I am a little pressed for time, and as my letter has
already run to a considerable length, I must, for the present

subscribe myself,

Your most dutiful son.1

1 As Mrs. Adams intended to join her husband in France, the son was sent to
London to meet her. He sailed from Hellevoetsluys by the packet boat on May
15, and reached Harwich two days later, and London on the same day. On the
1 8th he wrote to his father : " Mr. Fox has at length carried the election for West
minster by a majority of 235 votes, and all the city was illuminated last evening.
But Sir Cecil [Wray] hopes still to get the better by the verification of the votes.

I4 THE WRITINGS OF [1784

TO JOHN ADAMS

LONDON, June 6th, 1784.

HONOURED SIR :

In the course of the debate l the principal persons who
spoke were on one side, Mr. Fox, Lord North, Mr. Sheri
dan and Mr. Lee; on the other Mr. Pitt, Lord Mulgrave,
Sir L. Kenyon, Mr. P. Arden and Mr. Wilberforce ; and if
I may be allowed to give my opinion, Mr. Pitt is upon the
whole the best and most pleasing speaker of them all. He
has much grace in speaking and has an admirable choice of
words. He speaks very fluently, so distinctly that I did
not lose a word of what he said, and he was not once em
barrassed to express his ideas. Mr. Fox on the contrary
speaks with such an amazing heat and rapidity that he
often gets embarrassed and sta'mmers some time before he
can express himself. His ideas are all striking, but they
flow upon him in such numbers that he cannot communi
cate them without difficulty. I should think he would
carry all before him if he spoke to persons who were to be
convinced by anything that was said. Lord North is very
cool, but does not I think speak like either of the two before
mentioned. Mr. Sheridan speaks extremely fast, and has
a wonderful facility of expression, but is not so distinct as
Mr. Pitt. There, Sir, in obedience to your command have
I given you my opinion of the eloquence of several great

Parliament met this day for the first time." At the end of the month the expected
vessel arrived, but brought only letters. "The Cincinnati seem to be very much
disliked the other side the Atlantic, several States have shown their disapproba
tion of them and it is supposed the order will be entirely annihilated. The House
of Representatives of our State have taken some resolutions upon the subject,
which I think quite noble." To his father, June I, 1784.
1 On the Westminster election.

i784] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 15

orators. If it is erroneous, my judgment is in fault, for I
have followed in this matter the ideas of no one. The
other day I met with Governor Pownall, who desired me
to present his compliments to you. He wishes to know
something about the business of the donation, but I told
him I believed you had heard nothing of it. He is going
to spend some time in the South of France. . . .l

TO JOHN ADAMS

LONDON, June i8th, 1784.
HONORED SIR :

I was in the House of Commons the day before yesterday
again, and heard the debates upon the subject of parlia
mentary reform. I was witness to something very extraor
dinary. I mean that Mr. Fox spoke with Mr. Pitt in
support of the motion, and Mr. Dundas, with Lord North
against it. I have never been so much pleased with the
debates as that day. Alderman Sawbridge moved for a
committee to inquire into the state of parliamentary rep
resentation, and after several of the secondary speakers had
delivered briefly their opinions, Lord North made a masterly
speech against the motion, and was about two hours and
an half delivering it. But Mr. Pitt, in a speech of a little
more than an hour's length, took Lord N[orth]'s arguments
all to pieces and turned them all against them. He spoke
in a most striking and pathetic manner of the unfortunate
situation in which this country now is, and endeavored to

1 "There is a young American here named Murray, from Maryland; he is study
ing law in the Temple, and intends making a tour through Holland this summer,
perhaps he will go over at the same time I do." To his father, June 15, 1784.
William Vans Murray succeeded Adams March 2, 1797, as minister to the Nether
lands.

16 THE WRITINGS OF [1784

show that it was for the most part owing to the defects of
the representation in Parliament. This speech confirmed
me in my opinion that he is the best speaker in the house,
and I really think that

Take him for all in all

I shall not look upon his like again.

Mr. Dundas spoke for about half an hour against parlia
mentary reform, at least for the present time. Mr. Fox
then spoke near an hour and a half extremely well for the
motion. He made use of a great number of very artful
and specious arguments against Mr. Pitt, and seemed as if
he found some consolation for his misfortunes in [tea]sing
the minister, tho' he spoke on the same side of the question.
But tho' I don't pretend to say Mr. Pitt surpasses him in
argumentation, yet I think nobody will deny that he does
in the delivery. Mr. Fox has a small impediment in his
speech, and one would think his nose was stopped by a
cold when he speaks, whereas Mr. P[itt] has the clearest
voice and most distinct pronunciation of any person I ever
remember to have heard. But they are both very great
men, and it is a real misfortune for this country that those
talents which were made to promote the honor and the
power of the nation should be prostituted to views of
interest and of ambition. Your dutiful son.1

1 In July his mother and sister arrived in London, and he there joined them.
The return to Paris and the life there are told in the Journal and Correspondence
of Miss [Abigail] Adams, published in 1841 by her daughter Caroline Adams de
Windt.

May 4, 1785, John Adams, then at Auteuil, received a commission, instructions,
and letter of credence to the court of Great Britain. The son determined to re
turn to the United States and complete his education there. He embarked at
L'Orient in [the French packet Captain Le Fournier, May 21, 1785, and on Sun
day, July 17, the packet cast anchor in New York harbor. Adams wrote to his
sister that he "was obliged to remain on deck all night in order to translate the

i78S] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 17

TO JOHN ADAMS

NEW YORK, August 3d, 1785.
DEAR SIR:

Mr. Church proposes to embark on board the British
packet, which is to sail to-morrow. He has offered to take
my letters, and I suppose he will be the bearer of dispatches
from Congress. Our passage, though it was not a stormy
one, was very tedious.1 Of eight weeks that we were at
sea, we had at least four of such calm weather as not to
proceed more than eight or ten leagues a day. As we
were coming up the river, we met the other packet, which
was sailing for France. I had only time to write a line
and inform you of my arrival. I hope she has by this
time performed a large part of her voyage, and that three
weeks hence you will receive my letter. I shall remain
here some days longer than I expected when I left you.
As it was too late when I arrived here for me to be at Bos
ton before Commencement, I thought there was less neces
sity of my being in haste to go. The President 2 has been
polite to me, even beyond what I could have expected ; he
has given me an apartment in his house, where I have
been these ten days. Mr. Jay was so kind before I came
here to make me the same offer.

The politicians here wait with great impatience to hear
from you. Matters seem to be at a crisis. The British

pilot's orders. Form to yourself an idea how I was puzzled to translate English
sea terms that I did not understand into French sea terms which I knew no better."
On the French packet met in the harbor at midnight, about to return to Europe,
was Mrs. Catharine Macaulay. "I fancy she leaves the country with a less ex
alted idea of our virtues, than she had when she came to it."

1 He left Autcuil May 12.

2 Richard Henry Lee, who was elected president of the Continental Congress,
November 30, 1784, and served until Congress ended its session, November 4, 1785.

c

i8 THE WRITINGS OF [1785

instead of delivering up the posts, have lately sent there a
reinforcement of troops. I have heard from merchants here,
that the fur trade from which we are thus precluded by an
open breach of the Treaty of Peace, is worth annually
50,000 pounds sterling. This may be overrated, but the
reluctance the British show to leave the posts is sufficient
proof that it is an important object. It is supposed that
your next letters will give information on the subject, and
let us know what is to be depended upon.

The duties laid on imported goods by many of the States,
and the prohibition of all English vessels in Massachu
setts, are another subject of much conversation. Mer
chants, who often adopt the proverb, that charity begins
at home, endeavor to demonstrate that the country will
suffer very much by these regulations. They say that all
foreign nations will be discouraged from bringing us any
goods while they are encumbered with such heavy imposts,
and if we go for them ourselves, they will sell them only
for money, which we have not. Many of them are still
very much afraid of Great Britain. They dread a war,
and in case she be not able to carry one on, they tremble
lest she should shut her ports upon us and stop our trade
with her West India Islands. They own that those Islands
cannot subsist without us, but they think we could not
hold out if we had no market to carry our productions to,
so long as they could without them. You will easily see
that this is the reasoning of a merchant who fears present
losses, and does not consider future advantages. Fortu
nately the spirit of the people is different, and I doubt not,
in case Great Britain should persist in her present conduct,
sufficient firmness will be shown on this side the water.
The State of Massachusetts have already prohibited all
British vessels to come in their ports. A frigate appeared

i735] JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS 19

since the act was passed, but was not suffered to enter.
The States have not given to Congress the power of regu
lating their trade, but it is almost universally considered
here a necessary measure. The President of Congress is
however much against it. He has written you by this
opportunity, and perhaps he has given you his opinion upon
the subject.

You doubtless know before this, that Mr. Bowdoin was
elected governor of Massachusetts at the last election, in
the place of Mr. Hancock, who was chosen Member of
Congress for the next session. The parties showed some
rancor and acrimony at the time, but since the election
everything has subsided, and the present Governor is very
popular. It is generally supposed here that Mr. Hancock
will next year be seated in the chair of Congress. I don't
know however whether he has accepted the appointment.1

Mr. Osgood, Mr. Walter Livingston, and Mr. Arthur Lee
are the Commissioners of the Treasury. Mr. Lee was
chosen a few days since, and has accepted.2 The board
could not be composed of persons more universally respected.

Mr. de Marbois,3 it is said, will in a short time leave

1 "Mr. Hancock, being too infirm to act as Governor of Massachusetts, is
chosen as member of Congress for the next year, and will probably take his rest
in the President's seat next November. This is escaping Scylla to fall into Charyb-
dis." To his sister, July 17, 1785. Hancock was chosen President of the Con
tinental Congress, November 23, 1785. 'July 27, 1785.

3 Barbe Marbois (1745-1837) had served in the French diplomatic service in
Germany before he received, in 1779, the appointment of Secretary of the Trench
legation in the United States. He married in this country, and in 1785 was trans
ferred to the governorship of Santo Domingo, whence he returned to France in
1790. Banished to Guiana during the French Revolution, he was recalled in iSoi,
and as Minister of finance negotiated the sale of Louisiana to the United States.
Marbois had made his first voyage to the United States in the same frigate with
John Adams and his son, and four years later an intercepted despatch from Mar
bois to Vcrgcnnes had an important influence in the peace negotiations, because
of its disclosure of the attitude of France towards the United States. Works of

20 THE WRITINGS OF [1785

America, and Mr. Otto, formerly a secretary to the Cheva
lier de la Luzerne, is to succeed him. I believe he will
not regret this country, nor do I think he will be much
regretted himself. The Chevalier is supposed to be much
more friendly to the country, and is much more respected
here. Many persons wonder why a Minister is not sent
from the Court of France.

After reading this letter, you will perhaps think I had
better be at my studies and give you an account of their
progress than say so much upon politics. But while I am
in this place I hear nothing but politics. When I get home
I shall trouble my head very little about them. I propose
leaving this next Monday the 8th inst., and shall certainly
be in Boston by the 2Oth. I am your dutiful Son.1

John Adams, I. 669. His wife the younger Adams described as "a pretty little
woman. She was a Quaker, but appears not to have retained any of the rigid
tenets of that sect."

1 Intending to enter Harvard in the Junior Sophister class, he learned that an
acquaintance with certain authors whose writings he had not studied was essential,
although he was otherwise as well prepared for admission as others of that class.
His father describes the qualifications gained in European studies, in a letter to
Benjamin Waterhouse, April 24, 1785, printed in Works of John Adams, IX. 530.
The rules of the college could not be set aside, and at the end of September, 1785,
he went to Haverhill. "The class had then gone through four books of Homer's
Iliad, two of Xenophon's Cyropaedia, the Greek Testament; in Latin they had
gone through the Odes and Satires of Horace and were in the Epistles ; in English
they had finished the study of Geography and that of Logic, and had entered
upon Locke on the Understanding. It so happened that when I was examined,
the only book which I was tried in that I had studied before I came to America
was Horace. Immediately upon going to Mr. Shaw's I began upon the Greek
Grammar, which I learnt through by heart. I then undertook the Greek Testa
ment, in which I went before I came here as far as the Epistle to Titus. In this
I was not so far as the class. I also finished Horace and the Andria of Terence.
In Logic I was equal with the class, and in Locke about 70 pages behind them,
Guthrie's Geography I had also finished. On the I3th of last month I was ex
amined before the President, three professors and four tutors : three stanzas in
the Carmen Seculare of Horace, six lines in the fourth book of the Iliad, a number

i786] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 21

TO JOHN ADAMS

CAMBRIDGE, May 2ist, 1786, Sunday.
DEAR SIR :

I am now much more at my disposal, with respect to my
time, than I was at Haverhill, and can devote more of it
to writing; though, it is said, this quarter, that is, the last

of questions in Logic and in Locke and several in Geography were given to me."
He was also asked to turn two English sentences into Latin, and was soon after
told by the President that he was admitted and might live in the college — the
latter an unexpected advantage. His roommate was Henry Ware, who had
graduated the previous year and was described as "one of the best moral and literary
characters in his class."

Adams remarked upon two matters in the college which could be altered for
the better. "There is not sufficient communication between the classes. They
appear to form four distinct orders of beings, and seldom associate together. . . .
Another is, that the tutors are so very young. They are often chosen among
bachelors that have not been out of college more than two years, so that their
acquirements are not such as an instructor at this university ought to be possessed
of. Another disadvantage of their being chosen so young is that they were the
fellow scholars of those they are placed over, and consequently do not command so
much respect as they seem to demand. However, take it all in all, I am strongly
confirmed in your opinion, that this university is upon a much better plan than
any I have seen in Europe." To his father, April 2, 1786. Ms.

"I was obliged in the course of six months to go through the studies which are
performed here in two years and nine months. So different had my studies been
from those at this place, that I had not before last October looked into a book that
I was examined in, except Horace. Had I arrived here three months earlier, it
would have been easier to enter into the class which graduates next Commence
ment, than it has been to enter the one I am in. This would have advanced me
one year, but there are a number of public exercises here that I should not have
performed and which I think may be advantageous ; such is speaking in the Chapel,
before all the classes, which I shall have to do in1 my turn four or five times before
we leave college. Such also are the forensic disputations, one of which we are
to have to-morrow. A question is given out by the tutor in metaphysics, for the
whole class to dispute upon. They alternately affirm or deny the question, and
write, each, two or three pages for or against, which is read in the Chapel before the
tutor, who finally gives his opinion concerning the question. We have two or
three questions every quarter. That for to-morrow is, whether the immortality
of the human soul is probable from natural reason ? It comes in course for me to

22 THE WRITINGS OF [1786

of the Junior Sophister year, is more important and busy
than any other in the four years. Mr. Williams' 1 lectures
on natural philosophy render it so. His course consists of
twenty-four lectures, thirteen of which we have already
had. I have hitherto taken minutes while he was speaking,
and written off after I came out as much as I could recol
lect of them. Some of my class have told me they were
not worth the time and pains I have spent upon them ;
but I think they are, as they may serve to fix firmer in my
mind the principles of an important branch of science,
which I never before have studied. In my last letter to
you I requested Desagulier's translation of 's Gravesande's
in two volumes octavo.2 There is 4to edition, but the other
is that which is studied here. They are very scarce in this
country, as they can neither be bought, nor borrowed out
of college. We begin to recite in them tomorrow, but I
shall endeavor to borrow them of some classmate for the
two weeks we shall recite in them this quarter, and I hope
to receive one before I shall have occasion for it again.
This is the last quarter in which we recite in the languages.
The next year we shall be confined to mathematics, natural
philosophy and metaphysics. We shall finish Locke on
the Understanding before the end of this year, and begin
on Reid on the Mind. Our progress here is very slow, but
we have so many things to attend to at once, that it can
not well be otherwise.

affirm; and in this case it makes the task much easier. It so happens that what
ever the question may be, I must support it." To his mother, May 15, 1786. Ms.
Adams' Diary while at Harvard College is summarized in Henry Adams, Historical
Essays, 80.

1 Samuel Williams (1743-1817), Hollis professor of mathematics and natural
philosophy in Harvard College, 1780-1788.

2 William Jacob 's Gravesande's Mathematical Elements of Natural Philosophy,
translated by John Theophilus Desaguliers, London.

i786] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 23

I received a few days since your favor of March I9th,
and at the same time, from my sister, Colonel Humphreys'
poem,1 which I think superior to the former. Among its
beauties is a very happy imitation of a famous passage in
Virgil, J£n. 6. 847, etc. It is in the 3<Dth page : 2

Let other climes of other produce boast, etc.

I think it is, as Boileau says of himself, "meme, en imitant,
toujours original." America appears to hasten towards
perfection in the fine arts, and any country would boast of
a Belknap as an historian, a Dwight as a poet, and a West
as a painter. There are in this University, one or two
students, (now Senior Sophisters,) who promise fair to
become very good poets. One of them, by the name of
Fowle,3 was appointed a few days since to deliver a vale
dictory poem on the 2ist of June, and it is said, has an
other assigned him as a part at Commencement. There is
among the governors of the college one, who for genius and
learning, would make a figure in any part of Europe. I
mean the Librarian, Mr. Winthrop.4 He has lately dis
covered a method of trajecting an angle, which has so long
been attempted in vain. Mr. Sewall :> too, the former
Hebrew Professor, is now producing his talents. He was
obliged to resign, because it was said he was addicted to
drinking. He most sacredly declared, at the time, that
the accusation was false. It has been said as an argument
to prove he was subject to the vice that his mental facul
ties were impaired. To show that this was not the fact, he

1 .7 Poem on the Happiness of America.

* Line 569 et seq, s Robert Fowle (1766-1847).

4 James Winthrop (1752-1821), who served as librarian of the College 1772-
1787, and also had repute as a jurist.

6 Stephen Sewall (1734-1804). In 1764 he became the first Hancock professor
of Hebrew in Harvard, and held that position until 1785.

24 THE WRITINGS OF [1786

has undertaken to translate Young's Night Thoughts into
Latin verse. The first night is to be published soon. The
work may be considered as a curiosity, and I shall send one
as soon as they are printed.1

June I4th. I have been so busy, since the date of the
former part of this letter, that I have not been able to
finish it. I have taken] in writing extracts of all I remem
ber of the lectures upon natural philosophy. The course
finished last Saturday, and I have now the disposal of my
time, much more than I had before. The performances at
Commencement are distributed, and are more numerous
than they ever have been before. It is a doubt at present
whether this is only a mark of favor to the class that is
about to graduate, because it is said to be one of the best
classes taken collectively, for genius, and learning, that has
ever gone through College ; or whether it is the intention
of the government for the future to increase the number
of good parts, as they are called. Hitherto about two
thirds of each class have had syllogistic disputes to perform
at Commencement, and as they are never attended to, they
are held in detestation by the scholars, and everyone thinks
it a reflection upon his character as a genius and a student
to have a syllogistic ; this opinion is the firmer, because
the best scholars almost always have other parts. There
are many disadvantages derived from these syllogisms, and
I know only of one benefit, which is this. Many scholars
would go through college without studying at all, but would
idle away all their time, who merely from the horrors of
syllogisms begin to study, acquire a fondness for it, and
make a very pretty figure in college ; and it is not uncom-

1 Node cogita, Auctore, anglice scripta. Printed in Charlestown [Caroloppidi],
1786. Sewall's Mss. in Harvard University bear witness to his learning and in
dustry.

i786] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 25

mon to see young fellows, the most idle in a class the two
first years, have the reputation of great students, and good
scholars the two latter.

The next Commencement there will be delivered two
English poems, two English orations, two Latin orations, a
Greek dialogue, three forensic disputes, and an English
dialogue between four. Thompson, a young gentleman
from Newbury, has one of the English orations. He is
generally supposed to be the most distinguished character in
College. It is said by his classmates that he will outshine
Harry Otis, who will deliver at the same time an oration
upon taking his second degree; but it is now a doubt
whether Thompson will appear, as he is very unwell. He
has injured his health by hard study, and it is feared he has
a slow fever.1

The bridge at Charlestown is very nearly completed.
Next Saturday being the iyth of June, there is to be a long
procession over the bridge, and an entertainment for six
hundred persons provided on Bunkers Hill.2 I know of no
news, as I am here quite retired. It is now eight weeks
since this quarter began. Near as we are to Boston, I
have been there only once in that time. A person who
wishes to make any figure as a scholar at this University,
must not spend much time either in visiting or in being visited.

I have one more request to add to those I have already
made. It is for Blair's Lectures 3 in octavo, so that they
may be in the same form with the sermons, and because an
octavo is much more convenient than a quarto. Your
dutiful son.

1 The prophecy was in part fulfilled, for Thomas W. Thompson (1766-1821)
represented New Hampshire in both branches of the national legislature.

2 See Massachusetts Centinel, June 21, 1786.

1 Lectures on Rhetoric, first published in 1783.

26 THE WRITINGS OF [1786

TO JOHN ADAMS

CAMBRIDGE, August 3Oth, 1786.
DEAR SIR :

I received a few days agone your favor of June 2nd.
You mention an affair, concerning which I had determined
to write in the beginning of this quarter. I have thought
much of an office in which to study the law. Should you
return home next spring and be yourself at leisure to instruct
me, I should certainly prefer that to studying anywhere
else. But if you are still detained in Europe, I should
wish to live in some place where there might be society
sufficient for relaxation at times, but not enough to en
courage dissipation. Boston I should for several reasons
wish to avoid. The principal ones are that it is unfavor
able to study, and that it would be almost doubly expensive.
Mr. Parsons1 of Newbury, has been mentioned, and I should
be very glad to study with him. However it is not per
haps a matter of much consequence whose office I am in,
if my time is well spent in it. I look forward with mingled
pain and pleasure to the time when I shall finish the col
legiate term. I have made it my endeavor to be intimate
only with the best characters in my class, and there are
several with whom I enjoy many social half hours. As
our pursuits are confined here merely to literature, it is
necessary to be a very close student in order to acquire a
respectable character. Out of an hundred and forty stu
dents that are here, there is undoubtedly every grade, from
the most amiable disposition to the worst, from the smallest
genius to the greatest, and from the complete ignoramus to
the youth of learning. There are some who do not study

1 Theophilus Parsons (1750-1813). See Memoir of Theophilus Parsons, by his
son, Boston, 1861.

i786] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 27

twelve hours in the course of a twelvemonth, and some who
study as much almost every day, and it always happens
that their reputation is in an exact ratio to the attention
they pay to studying. The good scholar is esteemed, even
by the idle ; but the bad one is despised as much by those
who are like him, as he is by the judicious. This is the
common course, but in these peaceful mansions there is
the same spirit of intrigue and party, and as much inclina
tion to cabal, as may be discovered at courts. It has not
the same opportunities to show itself, and remains for the
most part concealed ; but there arc certain circumstances
and situations in which it breaks forth with great vehemence.
This has lately been the case with my class. It is cus
tomary early in the first quarter of the senior year for each
class to meet and choose by ballot one of its members to
deliver a valedictory oration on the ensuing 2ist of June,
and four others to collect the theses, which arc published
by the class when they take their degrees. [We] have
lately gone through this business. There were different
parties for three persons as orator, and there was a great
deal of intriguing carried on. One only could be successful,
and Little,1 of Newburyport, was finally chosen, a person,
who to an excellent genius, unites an amiable disposition,
and an unblemished moral character. The class did me
the honor to choose me among the theses collectors, and for
the mathematical part.2 Little did I think, -when you gave
me those lessons at Auteuil, which you call our suppers,
that they would be productive of this effect.3 It is a la-

1 Moses Little (1766-1811).

2 "I am the more pleased to learn that you are to collect the mathematical
theses, as the same part fell to my share in the year 1755." John Adams to John
Quincy Adams, January 10, 1787- Ms.

* The father speaks in a letter of April 2, 1786, of "our Greek breakfasts at the
Hague, and our Euclid suppers at Auteuil." Ms.

28 THE WRITINGS OF [1786

borious task, and will confine my studies for the ensuing
year much more to the mathematics than I should have
done if I had been left to my own disposal. . . .

TO ABIGAIL ADAMS

CAMBRIDGE, December 30, 1786.

As for public affairs I have a great aversion even to
thinking of them ; and near as we are to Boston, I should
know nothing concerning them, if riots, insurrections, and
anarchy were not at this time the only topics of conversa
tion. The people in four or five counties of this State are
distracted, and several hundreds of men have repeatedly
taken arms, and prevented the sitting of the Court of Com
mon Pleas. In Worcester, Berkshire, and Hampshire, the
people in general are said to be discontented, and to com
plain of taxation, of the Court of Common Pleas, of the
salaries of public officers, and of debts, public and private.
All these are, they think, intolerable grievances, and they
wish to abolish them. In the other counties, however,
the people are quiet, and in general firmly attached to their
constitution. Among the rioters that have appeared several
times in opposition to the courts of justice, there has not
been one man of any reputation in the State ; and there
have been consequently a number of leaders. Three of
them have lately been taken, and it is probable the others
will soon share the same fate. The insurrections are not
immediately dangerous, but our government has not suffi
cient vigor and energy to suppress them at once. There
has appeared in the councils a degree of timidity and irreso
lution, which does no honor to the executive power of a
commonwealth. It is said to have arisen chiefly from the

1787] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 29

second citizen in the State, who is now distinguished by the
ludicrous nick-name of the Old Lady.1 I am, however, in
hopes that in two or three months the public tranquillity
will be completely restored. I suspect that the present
form of government will not continue long, for while the
idle and extravagant, and consequently the poor, complain
of its being oppressive, the men of property and considera
tion think the constitution gives too much liberty to the
unprincipled citizen, to the prejudice of the honest and
industrious. The opinion that a pure democracy appears
to much greater advantage in speculation than when re
duced to practice gains ground, and bids fair for popularity.
I feared that by having received so large a share of my
education in Europe, my attachment to a republican gov
ernment would not be sufficient for pleasing my country
men ; but I find on the contrary that I am the best
republican here, and with my classmates, if I ever have
any disputes on the subject, I am always obliged to defend
that side of the question. . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

BRAINTREE, June 3Oth, 1787.
DEAR SIR :

I am at length released from the multiplicity of business
which has employed so much of my time for the last eigh
teen months. During that period I had scarcely a leisure
moment, and was forced to a degree of application which has
been injurious to my health. But as I am left at present
free from every employment, I shall have time to recruit,
and I shall also be able to give more frequent testimonies
of the attachment to my friends in Europe, who perhaps

1 Thomas Gushing (1725-1788), lieutenant-governor of the State.

30 THE WRITINGS OF [1787

have just grounds to complain of my neglecting to write,
notwithstanding all that I have offered for my justifica
tion. On the 2Oth of the present month I concluded my
collegiate course and returned here, as the Senior class are
always dismissed four weeks before Commencement. At
an exhibition which took place at the beginning of April, I
delivered the inclosed piece upon the profession of the law.
Two of my classmates performed at the same time, one of
which spoke upon physic and the other upon divinity.1
The comparative utility of these professions was the topic,
and the performance was honored with the approbation of
the audience. It may savour perhaps of vanity in me to
mention this circumstance, and I should have said nothing
of it was it not from the hope that it would afford satis
faction to the best of parents. I have allotted to me for
Commencement an English oration, upon the importance
and necessity of public faith to the well-being of a com
munity. The subject is noble and of the greatest conse
quence. It deserves a more able defender, and indeed
requires it; for our public faith at present is in a sad con
dition. I am led unaware into political ground, and now I
am there I must indulge myself.

Mr. Hancock was again elected governor this year, and
out of 18,000 votes he had more than 13,000. This plainly
shows that the people in general are displeased with some
part of Mr. Bowdoin's conduct; but it is the caprice of an
ungrateful populace, for which it must ever be impossible
to account. Mr. Hancock is very much involved in debt,
if common report be true. It is even confidently asserted
that his present estate would not by any means do justice

1 This paper is found with the letter. It is entitled "A Conference upon the
comparative Utility of Law, Physic and Divinity," and the other two speakers
were Moses Little and Nathaniel Freeman. The paper was "spoken" on April 10.

x787] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 31

to his creditors. It is therefore concluded that he would
favor tender acts, paper currencies, and all those measures
which would give the sanction of the law to private fraud
and villany. It was supposed that a Senate and an House
of Representatives would be chosen, perfectly willing to
abolish all contracts public and private, ready in short to
redress the people's grievances, that is, to gratify their
passions and justify their crimes. But these fears were
not entirely well grounded. There are indeed several Sena
tors and many representatives who would stick at nothing.
A Willard,1 a Drury,2 a Whitney,3 and many others who
have openly espoused the cause of treason and rebellion,
are now among the legislators of the country. Intestinam
aliquam quotidie perniciem reipublicae molientes. There is
however in both branches of the legislature a majority of
well-meaning men, who will support the dignity of the
government, and who will not prostitute the honor of their
country. A motion was made a few days since that a
committee should be appointed to examine the merits of a
paper currency, and to report upon the expediency of an
emission at present. But there was a majority of more
than fifty, even against the committing it. It has been
resolved that the Court should move out of the town of
Boston, and the committee have finally recommended Con
cord as the most proper place to which it may be removed.
The people in the country are very earnest in this point,
and as usual without knowing why. The salaries of all
civil officers, which are now too small, will infallibly be
reduced still lower. Mr. Hancock, who has a peculiar tal
ent of pleasing the multitude, has compounded this mat-

1 Two of the name of \YiIlard were in the new House, Dr. Samuel, of Uxbridge,
and Jacob, of Ashburnham.

2 Luke Drury, of Grafton. 8 Josiah Whitney, of Harvard.

32 THE WRITINGS OF [1787

ter by offering to make a present to the public of 3Oo£.1
But I consider this as a pernicious precedent, a palliative
worse than it would have been, had the legislature cur
tailed the salary. For if one man gives up 3Oo£, another,
fishing equally for popularity, may give more, and the chair
of government may finally be offered to the lowest bidder.
It is impossible for a free nation to subsist without parties,
and unfortunately our parties are not yet formed. The
democratical branch of our government is at present quite
unrivalled, and we severely feel the want of sufficient
strength in the other branches. The Senate indeed has
several times within these eighteen months saved the
Commonwealth from complete anarchy, and perhaps from
destruction; but its hands are tied, and the people are
too generally disposed to abolish the Senate as an useless
body. I have indeed great hopes that the "Defence of the
Constitutions" will produce an alteration in their senti
ments. It will certainly have great weight. One printer
in Boston is employed in printing a new edition of this
book,2 and another is retailing it twice a week, in a news
paper,3 so that I hope it will be sufficiently spread through
out the Commonwealth. As to the monarchical power, it
appears to be entirely out of the question, and unless by a
revolution it be established upon the ruin of the two others,
it will never possess influence sufficient to hold the balance
between them.

There was this year no choice of a lieutenant governor
by the people. Mr. Cushing 4 and General Lincoln were
the primary candidates. Mr. Gorham and General Heath

1 See Massachusetts Centinel, June 27, 1787.

2 Edmund Freeman. The book appeared in 1788.

* The Massachusetts Gazette, beginning June 22, and running to September 7,
1787. 4 Thomas Cushing and Nathaniel Gorham.

i787] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 33

had likewise some hundreds of votes. The House sent up
Mr. Gushing and Mr. Gorham to the Senate, because
General Lincoln was a military character. The Senate
were unanimous in favor of Mr. Gushing, who will probably
drop at the next election. Mr. Adams 1 has been much
opposed to General Lincoln, and had sufficient influence to
prevent his being chosen even as a councillor, because he
is a member of the Society of Cincinnati. It is strange
that no one dares attack this institution openly. It is
daily acquiring strength, and will infallibly become a body
dangerous, if not fatal to the Constitution. Immediately
after the death of General Greene, it was asked by one of
the State Societies that his eldest son, at the age of eighteen
should take his seat as a member. I was perfectly astonished
to see no notice taken of this measure by the public. By
dropping the hereditary part of the constitution, they will
after some time reduce themselves to a small number, and
by admitting the sons of the most distinguished characters,
they obtain their end, as completely as if it were professedly
hereditary. But as they are not immediately dangerous,
and there are so many other difficulties that engage the
attention of the public, nothing is said, or done upon the
subject, and they are suffered to take their own course.2
A free people always were and always will be ready to strain
at a gnat and swallow a camel.3 . . .

1 Samuel Adams.

1 The subject of the Cincinnati had been much discussed in 1784, and the
general unpopularity of the institution fully developed. John Adams, then in
Europe, wrote in severe terms of it to Lafayette (Works of John Adams, VIII.
192), and he was not alone in believing the newly formed society "against the
spirit of our governments and the genius of our people."

1 "I consider as one of the most fortunate circumstances of my life that I came
from Europe as I did ; it has been of great and real service to me in many particu
lars. It has reduced my opinion of myself and of my future prospects to a nearer
level with truth ; so that making allowances for the general exaggerations of youth,

D

34 THE WRITINGS OF [1787

TO JEREMY BELKNAP

BRAINTREE, August 6, 1787.
SIR,

I received your favor of the 3d instant, and am really
at a loss how to return you my thanks for the undeserved
expression of politeness which it contains. With respect to
the publication of my performance,1 I wish equally to avoid

I do not overrate myself more than people in general are apt to do. It has enabled
me to form an intimate friendship with a number of worthy characters of the same
standing in life with myself; and it has been the means of turning my attention
to several important branches of study, which otherwise I must have neglected.
There are at the university two private societies formed upon a similar plan to
that which you mention in one of your late letters. Of these societies friendship
is the soul, and literary improvement the object; and consequently neither of
them is numerous. I was received as a member of both those societies very soon
after my admission at the university, and I am certain that the institutions are of
great service to those who belong to them. In short I am now so firmly persuaded
of the superior advantages of a public education, that I only regret I did not enter
the university a year and a half sooner than I did." To his mother, August I, 1787.
Ms.

1 On Wednesday July 18, at the commencement exercises at the University in
Cambridge, Adams delivered an oration " Upon the importance and necessity of
Publick Faith to the well-being of a community." A writer in the Massachusetts
Centinel, of July 21, said: "The two principal performances were the Orations by
Mr. Adams and Mr. Freeman. The first of these certainly declaimed upon a well-
chosen subject, in a manly, sensible and nervous style of eloquence. The public
expectations from this gentleman, being the son of an Ambassador, the favourite
of the officers of the college, and having enjoyed the highest advantages of Euro
pean instruction, were greatly inflated. The performance justified the preconceived
partiality. He is warmly attached to the republican system of his father, and des
canted upon the subject of public justice with great energy. Mr. Adams's indispu
table superiour, in style, elegance and oratory, is the graceful Mr. Freeman. It is
thought almost impossible for him to exceed his accomplished rival who spoke be
fore him — but to Freeman every thing was easy. They were both considerably
agitated when they arose, and seemed to recover a decent confidence after the
same interval. Freeman was not deficient in energy of diction — in mellifluousness
he was unequalled. He had happily imitated that plain and just model of elo
quence which has been attended with the most flattering success in this country.

i787] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 35

giving any just ground for a charge of presumption or of
obstinacy. The reason which induced me to wish that
Harris's * poem might be published was that I supposed it
might in some measure serve as a justification for me.
But I fear, Sir, that persons of judgment and candor who
were present at Commencement, and who would therefore
be proper judges of the comparative merit of the perfor
mances on that day would be displeased to see mine alone
in print, and would reasonably think it a breach of common
decency in me to consent to it. This is my objection. I
only request that you would weigh it in your own mind,
and I will leave it to you to determine whether I ought not
to prevent the publication. Judge me impartially, and
without favor and I shall readily submit to your decision.

If you should finally conclude to have it printed, I do
not wish that anything should be said respecting the diffi
culty of obtaining a copy; any preface of that kind could
at best only palliate my faults, and would only give an air
of importance to the piece, which it does not deserve, and
which it could not support. Apologies of this nature never
have any influence upon impartial persons, and these are
the only characters I am fearful of offending.

To the publication of the name my objections are more
numerous and still stronger than to the other point. In
several collegiate performances which have heretofore
been published the names are omitted: indeed,.! do not
recollect that I ever saw one with the name before it. If
the piece is said to have been delivered by one of the can
didates for the bachelor's degree at the last Commence-
In short, these young gentlemen discovered those qualities that must ensure them
eminence, and we hope for the sake of their country, they may be rivals in the
cultivation of those talents through life." On an alleged intrigue in the distribu
tion of the commencement honors see Massachusetts Ccntind, September 15, 1787.

'Thaddeus Mason Harris (1768-1842).

36 THE WRITINGS OF [1787

ment, I confess I cannot see of what importance it can be,
either to the university, or to the public, that the individual
person should be named. And if my father has been so
fortunate as to render services of importance to his country
men, that is certainly no reason why they should be preju
diced in favor of his son.

I have, however, such an implicit confidence in your
judgment, that I shall leave even this point to your final
determination : and if you think these reasons sufficiently
valid, you will be so kind as to return the oration to Mr.
Foster, who will transmit it to me. With every sentiment
of esteem and respect, I remain, Sir, etc.

TO ABIGAIL ADAMS

NEWBURYPORT, December 23d, 1787.
DEAR MADAM :

It is a long time since I wrote you last, but I am per
fectly weary of making apologies. I have no doubt but
my friends will forgive me, when they recollect the causes
which have prevented me from informing them frequently
of those trivial events, which the partiality of friendship
alone can render interesting. When I was last in Boston
which was about two months ago, I wrote a few hasty
lines to my father, intending to write more largely soon after
my return to this place. I have delayed fulfilling my
intentions from time to time, either from the want of an
opportunity, or from the multiplicity of my employments,
and even now, I know not whether this letter will go within
these three months.

In the beginning of September I came to this town, and
began the study of the law with Mr. Parsons. I could
not possibly have an instructor more agreeable than this

i787] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 37

gentleman. His talents are great, his application has been
indefatigable, and his professional knowledge is surpassed
by no gentleman in the Commonwealth. The study itself
is far from being so destitute of entertainment as I had
been led to expect.1 I have read three or four authors with
pleasure as well as improvement, and the imaginary terrors
of tediousness and disgust, have disappeared, upon the
first approach. But in their stead other fears have arisen
which create more anxiety in my mind, and which will
increase rather than subside. The popular odium which
has been excited against the practitioner in this Common
wealth prevails to so great a degree, that the most innocent
and irreproachable life cannot guard a lawyer against the
hatred of his fellow citizens. The very despicable writ
ings of Honestus 2 were just calculated to kindle a flame
which will subsist long after they are forgotten. The author
after being hoisted by this weak instrument into the Senate
has already returned to his native insignificancy, and under
the new adopted signature of Candidus, defends a good
cause without ability and without success. But the poison
has been so extensively communicated, that its infection
will not easily be stopped. A thousand lies in addition to
those published in the papers have been spread all over
the country, to prejudice the people against the order, as
it has invidiously been called ; and as a free people will
not descend to disguise their sentiments, the gentlemen of
the profession have been treated with contemptuous neg
lect, and with insulting abuse. But notwithstanding all

1 The diary of Adams while at Newburyport, and covering the period from August
9, 1787, to September 18, 1789, was printed by Charles Francis Adams in 2 Mass.
Hist. Soc. Proceedings, XVI. 291, and in separate form, Life in a New England
Town: 1787, 1788. Boston, 1903.

2 Benjamin Austin (1752-1820), whose tract Observations on tke pernicious Prac
tice of the Law appeared in 1786.

38 THE WRITINGS OF [1787

this the profession is increasing rapidly in numbers, and
the little business to be done is divided into so many shares,
that they are in danger of starving one another. When I
consider these disadvantages, which are in a degree peculiar
to the present time, and those which at all times subsist;
when I reflect that good abilities, great application, and a
favorable fortune are requisite to acquire that eminence in
the profession which can insure a decent subsistence, I
confess I am sometimes almost discouraged, and ready to
wish I had engaged in some other line of life. But I am
determined not to despond. With industry and frugality,
with patience and perseverance, it will be very hard if I
cannot go through the world with honor. I am most
resolutely determined not to spend my days in a dull tenor
of insipidity. I never shall be enough of a stoic to raise
myself beyond the reach of fortune. But I hope I shall
have so much resolution as shall enable me to receive pros
perity without growing giddy and extravagant, or adver
sity without falling into despair.

I board at a Mrs. Leathers's,1 a good old woman, who
even an hundred years ago would have stood in no danger
of being hanged for witchcraft. She is however civil and
obliging, and what is very much in her favor, uncommonly
silent ; so that if I am deprived of the charms, I am also
free from the impertinence of conversation. There is one
boarder beside myself — a Dr. Kilham,2 (I hope the name
will not scare you) one of the representatives from this
town, a very worthy man, and a man of sense and learning.
Was it not for him I should be at my lodgings as solitary
as an hermit. There is a very agreeable society in the town,
though I seldom go into company.

1 She lived on State Street, near Parsons' office.
a Daniel Kilham.

i787] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 39

I passed two or three days at Haverhill, about a month
ago, and had the pleasure of finding Mr. Thaxter.1 From
the severest censurer of every trifling attentions between
lovers, he became as fond a shepherd as ever was celebrated
in the annals of Arcadia. He expects some peculiar ani
madversions from you, for his desertion of principles, which
he formerly boasted were so deeply rooted in his mind.
But it is the old story of Benedick. The absurdity is not
in abandoning a vain, ineffectual resolution, but it is in
pretending to adopt a resolution, which every day may be
rendered futile.

I have frequently been prevented from expatiating in
my letters upon political topics by the sterility of the
subject; an uncommon fertility now produces the same
effect. I can only say in general terms that parties run
very high, and that we are most probably at the eve of a
revolution. Whether it will be effected in silence, and
without a struggle, or whether it will be carried at the
point of the sword, is yet a question. The newspapers will
show you how much the public is engaged in the discus
sion of the new continental form of government, which I
fear will be adopted.

From the remainder of the family you will probably
hear, by the same opportunity that is to convey this. When
I last heard from my brothers they were well. Your ever
affectionate son.

1 John Thaxter, Jr. (1755-1791). See Works of John Adams, index.

40 THE WRITINGS OF [1789

TO JOHN ADAMS

NEWBURYPORT, June 28th, 1789.

DEAR SIR :

Three months have elapsed since my return to this town.
My health has been restored beyond my expectations, and
I have been able without injuring it, to devote a larger
portion of my time to study than I hoped to when I left
Braintree. Lord Coke, Saunders, Hale and Blackstone
have contributed to add to my small stock of professional
knowledge, and I have made some researches into the
doctrine of pleading. My greatest apprehensions at present
are with respect to the practical part of the profession.
The skill to apply general knowledge to particular cases is
no less important than the knowledge itself; and a new
piece of mechanism will often perform its operations with
great irregularity, however well it may be constructed. I
remain still in a state of irresolution and suspense with
respect to the place of my future residence. I have con
sulted Mr. Parsons upon the subject : he said he could
not advise me so well at present, as he might after the
federal judiciary system shall be established, because he
knew not what vacancies might be created by that cir
cumstance. He however hinted that if either himself or
Mr. Bradbury 1 should be removed he should recommend
this place to me. I know not what his own expectations
are; but I have some reason to suppose he has his eye
upon two offices, those of the district judge and Attorney
General, either of which I believe would suit him well.
And by his putting the supposition of his being taken off

1 Theophilus Bradbury (1739-1803), in 1797 appointed a judge of the Massachu
setts Supreme Court.

i789] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 41

from the practice, I have conjectured that there was in his
own mind an idea of the probability of his appointment.
As I believe his talents are much better calculated to ad
minister laws than to make them, I wish he may succeed.1
Perhaps even an involuntary consideration of my own
interest has some effect to give a bias to my opinion. I am
the more free to make this confession, because I suppose
the appointments are all adjusted ere this and I shall not
therefore appear in the humiliating light of a solicitor,
which I wish ever to avoid, and in which I am well per
suaded I should be unsuccessful were I now to assume it.

As our newspapers are probably transmitted to you with
regularity, I can give you very little news in the public
line. The very great majority of votes by which Mr.
H[ancock] was reelected, and the influence which was
successfully exerted for Mr. A[dams], appeared somewhat
singular after the event of all the contests relating to the
federal elections.2 There have been a variety of subordi
nate political manoeuvres in the choice of representatives
of the different towns. Those in Boston you have un
doubtedly been informed of. There was in this town a
faint struggle for a change in the representation, but the
old members came in with a respectable majority.

Our General Court, after sitting about a month, and
busying themselves upon the subject of finance just suffi-

1 Gore, who was about to receive the office of United States district attorney for
Massachusetts, thus passes upon the candidates for district judge : " [James] Sullivan
is well qualified in point of capacity, but the world says that his heart is not true.
Parsons in a superior degree is qualified as a lawyer, but as a man he possesses not
one qualification. [Francis] Dana is talked of, and were his health not very un
certain, he would undoubtedly be a fit man. [William] Tudor and [W.] Wetmore are
likewise candidates. . . . They are both honest men, and the latter a painstaking
lawyer, as the phrase is." Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, I. 367.

2 Samuel Adams took the oath as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, May
27, 1789.

42 THE WRITINGS OF [1789

cient to refer it over to the next session, have adjourned to
some time in January, when it will be too late in the po
litical year to adopt any decisive measures. There has
been a scheme on foot for sinking our State debt by means
of a lottery. From Mr. Parsons's conversation I have
supposed that the plan originated with him, and in his
speculative principles he thinks it would reconcile the
claims of public justice with the interests of an impotent
debtor. The proposal was to redeem £40,000 of the debt
by refunding only £10,000 in specie to the adventurers.
Besides the impropriety of encouraging a gambling dis
position among the people, I confess the plan appears to
me equally inconsistent with the dignity of a sovereign
state and with the integrity of an honest debtor. For
whatever expedients may be used to conceal or disguise
the iniquity of the transaction, nothing can be more clear
than that where a debt of £40,000 is paid with 10,000 the
creditor must be defrauded. The bill passed in the House
by a majority of 73 to 52, but was non-concurred by the
Senate.1 . . .

The proceedings of Congress have almost entirely super
seded all other subjects of political speculation. The
revenue bill has hitherto chiefly engaged the public atten
tion. The original duty upon molasses exceedingly alarmed
many of our West India merchants, and whatever may be
said of discarding all local and personal considerations, they

1 "Till the intention of Congress is known relative to the assumption of funds,
the state cannot, with propriety, make any arrangement for the payment of their
debts. If the national government could assume the different State debts, the
consequence I should presume would be greatly beneficial to America. But if
attempted, this must be done speedily. That it will tend to a consolidation of the
union will presently be foreseen and therefore objected to by State demagogues."
Gore'to King, June 7, 1789. Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, I. 362. Hamil
ton did not become Secretary of the Treasury until September of this year

1 78Q] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 43

have not, I believe, been so much pleased with any act of
the President of the Senate, as his turning the vote for
reducing the duty to three cents.1 This observation how
ever only applies to a few, for I do not know that the cir
cumstance is generally known. The judiciary bill has not
yet been published here. I had a transient sight of a copy,
which I believe Mr. Dalton sent. Mr. Parsons thinks six
judges will not be enough, and objects to the joining the
district judge to the other two in the circuits, because it
gives him a casting voice in affirming his own decisions.
I am, etc.2

ADDRESS TO PRESIDENT WASHINGTON BY THE
CITIZENS OF NEWBURYPORT3

November, 1789.

When by the unanimous suffrages of your countrymen you
were called to preside at her councils, the citizens of the town of
Newbury Port participated in the general joy arising from a pleas
ing anticipation of an administration conducted by one to whose

1 This was an error, as John Adams pointed out in his reply.

2 The United States Circuit Courts remained in existence until January I, 1912,
being abolished by the act of March 3, 1911.

" I was not one of the choir who welcomed the President to New England' 's shore,
upon his arrival here by land. I was, however, in the procession which was formed
here to receive him in humble imitation of the Capital. And when he left us, I was
one of the respectable citizens (as our newspapers term them) who escorted him on
horse-back to the lines of New Hampshire. ... I had the honor of paying my
respects to the President upon his arrival in this town, and he did me the honor to
recollect that he had seen me a short time before, at New York. I had the honor
of spending part of the evening in his presence at Mr. Jackson's. I had the honor
of breakfasting in the same room with him the next morning at Mr. Dalton's. I
had the honor of writing the billet which the major general of the county sent him
to inform him of the military arrangements he had made for his reception. And
I had the honor of draughting an address, which with many alterations and addi
tions (commonly called amendments) was presented to him by the town of New-
buryport." — To Abigail Adams, December 5, 1789. Ms.

44 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

exertions they felt themselves so much indebted for their in
estimable freedom.

At the present moment they indulge themselves in sentiments
in joy resulting from principles perhaps less elevated, but equally
dear to their hearts ; from the gratification of their affection in
beholding personally among them, the friend, the benefactor, the
father of his country.

They cannot hope, Sir, to exhibit any peculiar marks of attach
ment to your person, since in expressing the feelings of the warmest
and sincerest gratitude, they could only re-echo the sentiments which
are impressed upon the hearts of all their fellow citizens as deeply
as upon their own. But in justice to themselves, they think they
are authorized to assure you, that in no part of the United States
are those sentiments of gratitude and affection more cordial and
sincere, than in the town which at this time is honored by your
presence.

TO JOHN ADAMS

NEWBURYPORT, March 19, 1790.
DEAR SIR :

I have to acknowledge the receipt of two letters from
you, of the 9th and of the I9th of last month, the former
of which I received, about three weeks ago, while I was at
Boston, attending upon the session of our Supreme Court,
and the latter came to hand but two days since. I hope I
shall ever feel suitably grateful for the tender solicitude
which you express with respect to my future prospects,
and I trust I shall always be sufficiently sensible of the
weight and importance of your advice and directions to
regulate my conduct. The principal subject of both your
letters has been long a matter of contemplation to my own
mind. I have been for some months expecting the judicial
appointments, upon the presumption that some vacancies
might be made, which would open a way for making a more

1790] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 45

advantageous settlement in some part of the Commonwealth
than there could be while those gentlemen, who were best
qualified for seats upon the bench, were still at the Bar.
But the appointments are now made, and have not pro
duced the smallest alteration in the prospects of a young
candidate for practice. Mr. Paine, the late Attorney
General, never did any other business than that of the
Commonwealth,1 though Mr. Sullivan, to the same office,
unites the greatest quantity of civil business of any gentle
man at the Bar.2 Mr. Cushing 3 was not even a practitioner,
so that notwithstanding the disposal of those three im
portant offices, the state of practice remains almost wholly
as it was before.

It has become necessary, however, for me to determine
speedily upon the spot of my future residence. And in
reflecting upon the subject, my mind has chiefly hesitated
between this town, Boston and Braintrce. It was at one
period expected that Mr. Bradbury,4 who lives at \\-\v-
buryport, would supply the place upon the bench which
was vacated by the removal of Judge Sewall.5 Had this
circumstance taken place, I should have been strongly in
clined to make an experiment in this place, where a resi
dence of three years has already made me better known
than I should be in any other situation, and where an agree
able circle of acquaintance would render the station pecu
liarly pleasing, so far as respects the intercourse of society.

1 Robert Treat Paine (1731-1814) was appointed Attorney-General of Massachu
setts in 1780, and remained in that office until 1790, when he became a judge of
the Supreme Court.

2 James Sullivan was Attorney-General of Massachusetts from 1790 to 1807,
when he was elected governor.

'Nathan Cushing. 4 Theophilus Bradbury.

5 David Sewall, of York, who was appointed, in 1789, United States Judge of
the district of Maine.

46 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

But with the small proportion of business which is done
in the county of Essex, it must be a folly to expect encourage
ment for a youth in a town, where besides Mr. Parsons and
Mr. Bradbury there are two other gentlemen of the pro
fession. As I could live at less expense at Braintree, than
in Boston, and perhaps should have less avocations from
my studies, I should without hesitation go there, and reside
at least for two or three years ; but my cousin, Mr. Cranch,1
will be there, and by opening offices in the same town we
could only divide the small pittance which either of us
singly might obtain. I could not in that case board in his
father's family. There is not another family in the town
(at least in "that part of the town) where I could board
with any convenience, and to live alone in one of your
houses, besides the unpleasant circumstances of a life so
solitary, would I think be quite as expensive as to live in
Boston, especially when it is considered that it would be
necessary for me to be as much as one-third part of my
time in that town to attend upon the sessions of the several
judicial courts. Boston therefore remains alone, upon
which I am by a kind of necessity constrained to fix my
choice. I cannot say I am pleased with the manners of
the town, and I trust the opportunities and temptations
to dissipation, which I shall probably find there, have no
influence upon my determination, unless to increase the
reluctance with which I make it. I have consulted with
Dr. Tufts,2 with Judge Dana, and with Dr. Welsh 3 upon
the subject, and they all agree in the opinion that I can do
no better than to fix upon Boston, and as you have in one
of your last letters expressed your approbation of the
measure, there remains little doubt in my mind, but that

1 William Cranch, later chief justice of the Circuit Court, Washington, D.C.

2 Cotton Tufts (1731-1815). 3 Thomas Welsh (1752-1831).

i79o] JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS 47

I shall put it into execution. The prospect, it is true, is
not encouraging; but if a resolute determination to make
my own way, in conjunction with the small talents which
have been allotted to me, are sufficient to procure me even
a moderate degree of success, I hope I shall not be much
longer a burden to the kindest and most generous of parents.

With respect to the article of board, it would not I imagine
be easy to find a family who would resign the front room
and chamber, as there is but one of each in the house, and
unless some advantage could be derived from the circum
stance of living and keeping an office in the same house, I
think it would be preferable to do otherwise. If a tenant
can be found, who will upon consideration of a suitable
abatement of the rent resign the front room in your house,
Dr. Tufts has promised to secure it to me for an office.
And Dr. Welsh has made me an offer to board me, and
let me have a chamber in a house to which he expects to
remove, before I shall have occasion to go into Boston. I
did not agree with him upon any settled terms, but I pre
sume he will not demand more than three dollars by the
week. In the town I have always given two and one half.

Should my present expectations and intentions be con
firmed I shall probably get settled in Boston some time in
August,1 and I shall request your permission to remove
thither your law library, which is now at Braintree. The
advantage of having such a collection of books around me,
will give me perhaps some opportunities, which few of the
young gentlemen of the profession have possessed, and they
will at least enable me to employ to some purpose a great
portion of time which must otherwise lay heavy upon my
hands.

1 In the second week of August he removed to Boston and opened an office in
a house on Court Street, belonging to John Adams.

48 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

I believe I have said quite enough upon a subject of so
little consequence as myself. I wish my information in the
political line were such as would enable me to supply you
with any interesting communications. The public mind
here seems chiefly agitated by the late discussions relative
to discrimination and to the assumption of the debts. The
decision upon the former of these subjects, meets with the
approbation of almost all the persons with whom I have
had opportunities of conversing. But I am apprehensive
that unless the consent of the States in their respective
legislatures is requested by Congress to the assumption,
that measure will be extremely unpopular, even in this
Commonwealth, burthened as it is with one of the heaviest
debts in the union. And if that consent should be re
quired, I am informed by those who are more connected
with political affairs, that even our General Court will
never grant it, though in their late session they have not
made provision for the payment of a quarter part of the
interest upon their debt. New Hampshire, whose debt is
comparatively trifling will be still more opposed to this
measure. This opposition is not confined to the party
who were termed anti-federalists. Some of the most
strenuous advocates for the Constitution are alarmed at
the prospects of a consolidation of the States and of the
dissolution of the particular governments. And they dread
to see an article so weighty and important as the State debts
taken from one scale and added to the other.

The internal politics of the State are in a state of tran-
quility, very unusual at this season. The opposers of the
Governor, discouraged I presume by the ill success which
they have always experienced, seem determined to leave
him in quiet possession. He has been confined as usual
all winter with the gout, and his judicial appointments

i79o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 49

have been the only public circumstances which have for
some time past been the subject of animadversion. The
appointment of Mr. Paine was rather popular. That of
Mr. Gushing was far otherwise. The friends of the Gov
ernor only insist upon the disinterested magnanimity of
nominating a man who it is said has been invariably opposed
to his measures, while his enemies are so far from acknowl
edging his disinterestedness, that they censure him very
highly for nominating to one of the most important offices
in the State, a man totally unqualified to sustain it, merely
to be freed from his troublesome opposition as a councillor.
The late Chief Justice,1 revered as his character universally
is, does not altogether escape censure for recommending so
earnestly his cousin to an employment, to which he is
almost universally said to be very inadequate. Your duti
ful son.

TO JOHN ADAMS

NEWBURYPORT, April 5th, 1790.
DEAR SIR :

I have more than once mentioned to you the state of
retirement from political conversation in which I live, and
the restraints which I am endeavoring to lay upon a dis
position inclining perhaps with too much ardor to feel
interested in public occurrences. But it sometimes happens
that I am accidentally witness to conversations upon these
subjects, from which I collect some trifling information,
that I imagine might at least not be unentertaining to you.
In general I have supposed that your other correspondents
in this quarter would anticipate me, and that I should only
employ your time in reading a relation of occurrences

1 William Gushing, who was, in 1789, appointed to the Supreme Court of the
United States.

50 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

which would not even have with you the merit of novelty.
But from some late letters I have been led (though perhaps
erroneously) to imagine your correspondents here have not
been so punctual in their communications, as they have
been formerly, and I have supposed I might mention some
circumstances, which though generally known here might
not be public at New York.

It appears to me that the hostile character of our general
and particular governments each against the other is in
creasing with accelerated rapidity. The spirit which at the
time when the Constitution was adopted, it was contended
would always subsist of balancing one of these governments
by the other has I think almost totally disappeared already,
and the seeds of two contending factions appear to be
plentifully sown. The names of Federalist and Anti-
federalist are no longer expressive of the sentiments which
they were so lately supposed to contain, and I expect soon
to hear a couple of new names, which will designate the
respective friends of the national and particular systems.
The people are very evidently dividing into these two parties.
What the event will be I hardly allow myself to conjecture,

but my soul asks

To know when two authorities are up,
Neither supreme, how soon confusion
May enter 'twixt the gap of both, and take
The one by the other.

In point of measures the government of the United States
has undoubtedly greatly the advantage. But while they
are strengthening their hands by assuming the debts, and
by making provision for the support of the public credit,
the partisans of our State government are continually upon
the rack of exertion to contrive every paltry expedient to

i79o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 51

maintain their importance and to check the operations of
the government, which they behold with terror. As they
can only clamor upon subjects of importance, their active
efforts are used in appointing a premature fast, or in oppos
ing the cession of a light house. In the last session of our
General Court the light houses in this Commonwealth were
not ceded to Congress. And the keeper of that at the
entrance of Boston Harbor has been forbidden upon his
peril to receive any directions or pay from the federal
officer. But the imbecility of our government renders all
these exertions the more ridiculous ; for while they endeavor
to prevent the assumption of their debt, they cannot even
provide for the payment of the interest upon it. And they
have never yet paid for two light houses at the entrance of
this harbor, although they are so solicitous to retain them.

The history of the additional amendments to the Con
stitution proposed by a joint committee of our two houses,
affords further evidence of the petty arts which are used
by the enemies to the national union to turn the tide of
popular opinion against the national government. Mr.
Austin, who, as I have been informed, had the principal
agency in that affair, never expected that any amendments
would be seriously proposed to Congress by our Legislature ;
and there is an internal evidence, the report of the Com
mittee, that it was intended for a declamation to the people
rather than for amendments to the Constitution. They
are not even pretended to be amendments, but after the
long commonplace rhapsody upon the dangerous tendency
of the government, when we come to the articles, we find
them pretended to be nothing but principles for amend
ments. The Committee consisted of seven members, of
whom only four were present when this report was agreed
upon. Mr. Dana who drew it up was one of the absent,

52 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

and it is said afterwards declared, that he should have
objected to the two last articles (perhaps the most impor
tant of the whole number), though he drafted them himself.
The two other absent members utterly disclaimed the re
port, and the chairman, who did not vote, was equally
opposed to it. Three members only agreed upon the
point, and when they produced the paper in the Senate,
they obtained a vote to have a certain number of copies
printed. It was then dismissed without being suffered to
undergo the test of an examination, and Mr. Austin, I am
told, made no scruple to acknowledge that he had answered
his purpose.

Yet even when opportunities are presented, where the
importance of our own government might be really in
creased, some other little selfish interested principle steps
in, and produces measures calculated to bring it into con
tempt. The appointment of N. Gushing upon the bench
of our Supreme Court has certainly not tended to increase
the confidence of the people in that important branch of
the government. The appointment was very unpopular ;
and what perhaps in a political view rendered the measure
the more injudicious is, that it is not his integrity but his
abilities that are called in question. But personal ani
mosity against the characters who would have added
dignity to that station, the apprehension of giving offence
to the late Chief Justice, who it is said recommended his
cousin too strongly, and the pleasure of removing a trouble
some councillor, concurring together, were too powerful
even for anti-federal principles, and produced we are told a
nomination, which could be accounted for upon no other
motives. The only liberal and generous measure by which
they have pursued their system has been the raising the
salaries of our judges, and I fear they would not have sue-

i79o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 53

ceeded even in that, had not the personal interest of certain
influential men, of very different principles been engaged
and assisted to promote it. It is melancholy to observe
how much, even in this free country, the course of public
events depends upon the private interests and passions of
individuals.

But the popularity of the general government is, and for
some time to come must continue to be disadvantageously
affected by those very exertions to support the public
credit, which must eventually strengthen it so effectually.
It must suffer, however, chiefly in the seaports and among
the merchants who find their interests affected by the
operation of the revenue laws. In this town and still more
in Salem, there have lately been considerable clamors
raised by men who have been the firmest friends to the
Constitution ; and there is now I presume before Congress
a petition from the merchants in this town, praying relief
from an evil, which has excited great complaints, but which
will probably be remedied without difficulty.

Those people among us who are perpetually upon the
search for causes of complaint against the government, are
cavilling at the dilatory manner with which the Congress
proceed in their business. The decision upon the subject
of discrimination has met with general approbation in the
circles of company where I have heard it mentioned, and
from the complexion of our newspapers, I have concluded
that the public opinion, of which so much was said in the
debates, is here much in favor of the measure. I do not
think indeed that the public opinion can always be collected
from newspapers, but they are never silent upon unpopular
topics of so great importance. Mr. Madison's reputation
has suffered from his conduct in that affair; and Judge
Dana is the only man I have known whose character gives

54 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

weight to his opinions, that has adopted those of Mr. Madi
son.

The report of the Secretary of the Treasury has in general
met with great approbation. I have heard it almost uni
versally spoken of with great applause. Yet I am almost
ashamed to acknowledge that I know not how justly it is
admired, as I have never read it. This neglect has rather
been owing to accident than to inclination, for little as I
attend to the public prints I should certainly have noticed a
publication of so important a nature, had I been in the way
of seeing the Gazette of the United States which contains it.
I am equally ignorant of the system for the establishment
of the militia, which is as much disliked as the treasurer's
report is esteemed. The most favorable judgment that I
have heard passed upon it was, that however excellent it
might be, it would never be submitted to by the people.

I know not but that I shall incur your censure for depart
ing even in this instance from the line which I have pre
scribed to myself, and losing the lawyer in the politician ;
and still more for the freedom with which I have expressed
myself upon public men and measures. If I should on
this occasion meet with your disapprobation, I shall with
out difficulty observe a more prudent silence upon these
subjects in future. The opinions which I have heard ex
pressed are no evidence of the general opinion even through
out the Commonwealth, but in some instances they have
been the opinions of men whose influence is great and exten
sive. But if the information contained in this letter should
compensate in your mind for its tediousness, I shall from
time to time continue to give you a similar supply.1 In
the meantime I remain your affectionate son.

1 Upon the expiration of his three years as "clerk" in the office of Mr. Parsons,
Adams paid him in full for his tuition, the sum of one hundred pounds lawful money.
On August 9, he took possession of his Boston office on Court Street.

i79o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 55

TO ABIGAIL ADAMS

BOSTON, August 14, 1790.
MY DEAR MADAM :

I know not of any news. The principal topic of conver
sation this week has been the arrival of the Columbia from
an expedition which has carried her round the world. The
adventurers after having their expectations raised to the
highest pitch, were utterly disappointed, and instead of the
immense profits upon which they had calculated, will
scarcely have their outsets refunded to them. This failure
has given universal astonishment and is wholly attributed
to the Captain,1 whose reputation now remains suspended
between the qualifications of egregious knavery and of
unpardonable stupidity. Mr. Barrell,2 I am informed, is
not discouraged, but intends to make the experiment once
more, and if he should not meet with anybody disposed to
second him, they say he will undertake it at his single risk
and expense. The people of the vessel have brought home
a number of curiosities, similar to those which you have
seen at Sir Ashton Lever's Museum. They have likewise
brought a native of the Sandwich Islands,3 who bound
himself as a servant to one of the passengers. He was
paraded up and down our streets yesterday, in the dress of
his country, and as he speaks our language has been con
versed with by many gentlemen in this town. One of the
passengers it is said has kept a very accurate journal of
the voyage and proposes to extract from it a relation for
publication.4 It will probably be curious ; though among
uncivilized and barbarous nations it appears to me the

1 John Kcndrick. See Bancroft, History of the Northwest Coast, I. 185.

2 Joseph Barrell. 3 Described as from the island of Atowa.

4 Probably Robert Haswell, second mate of the companion ship, Lady Washington.

56 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

observations of travellers must generally consist chiefly in
a repetition of what was noticed by the first adventurer
who discovered them. The situation of a country and
whatever relates to inanimate matter continues the same.
The peculiarities of the animal creation when once re
marked, seldom afford any further field for information.
It is from man that we must always derive our principal
source of entertainment and instruction. And although
the knowledge of the human heart may perhaps be pro
moted by inferences drawn from the manners and customs
of a people newly discovered, yet the savage inhabitants
of a petty island, cannot have many customs or opinions
which may not be discoverable to the first man who becomes
acquainted with them.1 . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, September 2ist, 1790.

DEAR SIR :

There are not in the profession many gentlemen inhabit
ing this town whose characters are remarkably formidable
from their respectability. Mr. Sullivan does more business
I suppose than any four others put together. I shall care
fully remember the cautions in one of your letters respect
ing him ; whatever other qualities he may possess, he may
safely be taken as a model for industry and activity. "I
believe," said Parson Clarke to [me] the other day "that
man has not a particle of indolence in his nature." He
treats me civilly, and it is all I wish. I have derived even
some instruction from his private conversation as well as

1 He was now in the family ot Dr. Thomas Welsh, to whom his father wrote
September 13, 1790, about his prospects in life. Works of John Adams, IX. 571.

i79o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 57

from his arguments at the bar, and the other day he gave
me a caution, which made a singular impression upon my
mind. I was sitting next to him within the bar at Concord.
He took from his finger a ring, and pointed to me the motto
engraved within the rim. It was "Weigh the Consequences."
Fas est et ab hoste doceri. Perhaps the benefit of the ad
monition may not be lost in its influence upon my conduct
towards the man himself. I have no desire to render my
self personally obnoxious to him, and I trust I shall always
disdain to court his favor.

Mr. Tudor l is an ingenious, amiable, indolent man, who
will always make a respectable figure in society, but who
has not activity or application enough ever to arrive to
the foremost rank of eminence in his profession. Your
personal acquaintance with him has made his character
better known to you than it is to me; my opinion of him
has been formed from the information of persons more
conversant with him, and confirmed in some measure by
my own observation.

Mr. Dawes,2 in addition to a similar indolence of dis
position, labors under the disadvantage of ill health ; he
is supported by a very considerable weight of paternal
influence, but his exertion has been blunted by the expec
tation of a large patrimonial property — he married too
young. To avoid an early matrimonial connection, was
one of the principles which I think I have heard you say
was recommended to you by Mr. Gridley.3 Happiness in
life I am fully persuaded must be derived principally form
domestic attachments ; but a foundation must be laid before

1 William Tudor (1750-1819), who had studied law in the office of John Adams.
A sketch of his career is in 2 Mass. Hist. Collections, VIII. 285.

2 Thomas Dawes, Jun. (1758-1825).

3 Jeremiah Gridley.

58 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

the superstructure can be erected. I hope I am in no
danger from this quarter.

Mr. Gore is one of those men whom Cardinal Richelieu
would have employed in public affairs.1 He is a very for
tunate man. In his profession he has been remarkably
successful ; from a combination of circumstances, which a
man of inferior abilities to those he possesses might per
haps have improved as well. The family connections have
likewise been extremely serviceable to him ; and it is said
that he has made an independent fortune by speculation in
the public funds. I have heard it asserted that he is the
richest lawyer in the Commonwealth.

Mr. Amory has also been successfully engaged in specu
lating upon public securities, as well as Mr. Wetmore 2 and
Mr. Otis.3 This employment does not appear to be very
intimately connected with the profession. But these gentle
men I am told have played at that hazardous game with
monies deposited in their hands ; and have been enabled
by the temporary possession of property belonging to for
eigners, to become masters of sums to an equal amount
before they have been called upon for payment. Amory is
very attentive to his business, and has recommended him
self by the expedition with which he performs that which
is entrusted to him. He is a student too ; but I think
confines his researches rather too much within the circle
of mere professional information.

Otis appears to me to be advancing very rapidly to emi
nence. There is certainly no man in the town of the pro
fession who unites so many of those qualities which are
calculated to attract the popular attention. He has been
but four years at the bar, yet excepting Sullivan, I believe

1 Christopher Gore (1758-1827). 2 William Wetmore (1749-1830).

3 Harrison Gray Otis (1765-1848).

i79o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 59

there is no one here who has a greater proportion of busi
ness. But his ambition has no limits, and I strongly suspect
that the honors of a public station have such allurements
to his mind that he will catch with ardor at the first oppor
tunity to become a public man. Such an opportunity will
perhaps be presented to him before long, and if he should
once get entangled in the political web, it may be presumed
he will like most others find it inextricable. These are the
persons who share among themselves the principal business
which is done in this town. Mr. Lowell has a son, who
was just sworn into court at the time of his appointment,
and to whom he has conveniently left all his unfinished
business.1 The young gentleman has talents, activity and
application, with a great degree of confidence in himself;
a quality which is not amiable, but which perhaps is very
serviceable to him, in helping him forward. His peculiar
advantages have given him an unusual share of business,
for a person so lately admitted. He is rather disposed to
attribute the circumstance to his superior abilities ; and
expresses some contempt for persons less successful than
himself, because depending solely upon their own charac
ters. . . .

TO ABIGAIL ADAMS

BOSTON, October lyth, 1790.
MY DEAR MADAM :

You will perceive by our papers that four members of
our present delegation in Congress are reflected.2 It is

1 John Lowell (1743-1802) and his son of the same name (1769-1840).

2 Fisher Ames, Theodore Sedgwick, Elbridge Gerry, and Benjamin Goodhue.
"Ames' election in Boston was the highest possible evidence that cou'd be produc'd
in favor of the Government. Austin and his friends, with S. Adams, Hancock and
Jarvis were open, warm and assiduous in favor of their candidate. Their argu-

60 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

not from the partly malevolence of a few contemptible
scribblers in our newspapers that the sense of the people
is to be collected. Two candidates had been opposed to
Mr. Ames,1 with the intention to divide the votes more
effectually, and so much industry and influence were exerted
in their favor, that the result in his favor was beyond the
most sanguine expectations of his friends, and the friends
of the national honor. In Middlesex, indeed, the votes
were more divided. Mr. Gorham 2 is a popular man and,
if the public report be not fallacious, he has been indefati
gable for these two years past in the pursuit of this election.
Mr. Gerry, however, has a respectable majority of votes.

You mention in one of your letters that Mr. Short 3 is
commissioned to negotiate the loan. I should wish to know
where it is expected he will obtain it. I cannot imagine
that the attempt will be made in France, where the nation
are so heavily laboring under the weight of their own poverty.
Holland, I presume, will be the seat of the negotiation.
And I should be glad to be informed what is the opinion
of the V[ice] President] with respect to its success. I
think the value of public paper must depend considerably
upon it.

ments were artfully addressed to the most unguarded parts of the mind of a Boston
Patriot. Our friend T. D[awes, Jun.] and his father [Thomas Dawes] were uncom
monly industrious in the use of all their influence to attain votes for the little Judge.
If reports are true men were hir'd and in daily pay of the former to create a favor
able influence in the country, and personal solicitations were used by both. Indeed
the most ridiculous and disgraceful stories are told of Thomas ; and the event
shewed, in a light truly mortifying, the little influence and small effects of dis
honorable means. Austin boasts that he had more votes than Dawes, and the latter
confesses himself mortified that he was less successful than the former." Gore to
King, October 23, 1790. Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, I. 393.

1 Benjamin Austin and Thomas Dawes.

2 Nathaniel Gorham ran against Gerry.

3 William Short, whom Adams later succeeded as minister to Holland.

i79o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 61

Our court of Common Pleas are sitting in this town, and
I have made my first essay in addressing a jury. I wish I
could add that I had acquitted myself to my own satis
faction. I had very little time for preparation, and did not
know the existence of the cause three hours before I spoke
to it. From this circumstance, and from the novelty of
the situation, added to the diffidence I have always felt of
my talent at extemporary speechifying, I was too much
agitated to be possessed of proper presence of mind. You
may judge of the figure I made.1

DEAR SIR :

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, October 19, 1790.

I have attended Town meeting, Sir, and it was upon the
occasion of the choice of representative for the district. I
was indeed not a little diverted at the scene, and derived
I believe some little instruction as well as entertainment
from it. Three-fourths of the votes in this town were in
deed for Mr. Ames, and this perhaps may enable you to

1 "Upon my return from Law Society this evening, I found my father in my room
with a letter in his hand from you to me. He asked me to see what you had written
concerning your downfall. Upon opening the letter I soon found what he alluded
to, but could find no marks of any downfall. That you should have been somewhat
confused upon your first exertion was by no means a matter of astonishment to
any of us. The person who is unintimidated upon such occasions has not the
common feelings of human nature. There is a pride, a respect, required by the
auditors, which makes a little confusion rather pleasing than disagreeable. I
think that an harangue of fifteen minutes is by no means despicable for a first essay.
Your father was quite consoled when he heard my letter, for that written to Mamma,
which he had previously read, had led him to suppose you had failed and suffered
a ro.v faucibus hacsit in reality." Charles Adams to John Quincy Adams, New York,
October 21, 1790. Ms. "Dr. Welsh writes that your diffidence was remarked
and your tremor observed, when you opened at the Bar." John Adams to John
Quincy Adams, December 17, 1790. Ms.

62 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

form an opinion respecting the popularity of the general
government in this State. Mr. Gerry too is reelected in
the district of Middlesex, notwithstanding the whole per
sonal interest of Mr. Gorham and his friends was very
strenuously exerted to operate a change. There was not
even the pretence of opposing a candidate to Mr. Goodhue,
and Mr. Sedgwick is also rechosen by a surprising ma
jority of votes in his district. These are premises from
which much more accurate conclusions may be drawn than
from the senseless bawlings of a miserable faction, and who
are reduced to the last resource of making up in unheeded
clamor, their total deficiency of influence and power. The
real fact is that the new government is very rapidly acquir
ing a broad and solid foundation of popularity. It possesses
in my opinion the confidence of the people in this State to
a more eminent degree than any other government upon
earth can boast of, and it appears to me to have already
acquired a stability as astonishing as the revolution it has
produced in the face of our affairs.

The effects of that revolution are already felt in a very
high degree in this part of the country. Our commerce is
increasing and extending ; our manufactures multiplying
very rapidly, our agriculture flourishing; industry has
resumed the place which it had resigned for some time to
idleness and luxury, and is seldom without employ. I am
informed that the mechanics of almost every description
in this town are at present more constantly busy than they
have been at any period since the Revolution. The popula
tion of the town has increased from 14,000 to 18,000 in
habitants since the year 1784, and the property has aug
mented in a much greater proportion. Twelve hundred
people are employed by one manufacture which has been
only three or four years established; that of wool cards.

i79o] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 63

That of sail cloth, equally recent, gives bread to several
hundred more. Paper hangings have become even an
article of exportation from hence. Near four hundred tons
of hemp I hear have been raised this season, within the
state. This is a new article of cultivation, and even so
late as the last year there were not more than thirty tons
raised within the Commonwealth. It is found to be a
very profitable article, and in all probability in the course
of two or three years will cease to be imported altogether;
and from a calculation which I have seen we might export
it and easily undersell the Russians. There is a Colonel
Wood in Charlcstown who has raised more than three tons
upon six acres of his land, and the produce of that small
field will neat him 300 dollars. There is undoubtedly a
connecting chain, the commune vinculum, between all the
various employments of mankind as well as between the
liberal arts and sciences. The farmer, the tradesman, the
mechanic and the merchant, are all mutually so dependent
upon one another for their prosperity, that I really know
not whether most to pity the ignorance or to lament the
absurdity of the partial politicians, who are constantly
erecting an imaginary wall of separation between them.1

The health of the Governor has been better for these
two months than for several years before. There is I think
a probability that he will hold the chair of state for many
years to come. It will not I presume be contested him;
and indeed the bitterness of parties has been tempered very
much by the favorable alteration in the public affairs.
The public peace and public prosperity appear in this in
stance to have possessed a mutual acting and reacting
power to establish and confirm each other. . . .

In the stagnation of our own politics the people who

1 A reference to Thomas Jefferson was probably intended.

64 THE WRITINGS OF [1790

have a fondness for the subject turn their attention to
those of Europe, which seems to be now as much as ever
it could be un repaire d'horreurs. The war between Spain
and England has been so long suspended in the balance,
that we presume one of the scales must very soon prepon
derate. The last information we have has a greater appear
ance of hostility than any we. have hitherto received. In
France it appears to me the National Assembly in tearing
the lace from the garb of government, will tear the coat
itself into a thousand rags. That nation may for ought I
know finally be free, but I am firmly persuaded it will not be
until they have undergone another revolution. A nobility
and a clergy, church and state levelled to the ground in one
year's time ; rights not inconsistent with those of man, estab
lished by a prescription uncontrovertible, if any prescription
can be so ; rights like these blown to the winds by the single
breath of a triumphant democracy, are inauspicious omens
for the erection of an equitable government of laws. By
the politeness of the French consul 1 I have perused several
volumes of their debates and projects for constitutions.
There are some valuable papers among them ; but it appears
to me that the rabble that followed on the heels of Jack Cade
could not have devised greater absurdities than many of
their propositions ; some of which have been adopted by the
Assembly. I am, dear Sir, yours affectionately,

1 Le Tombe.

" The felicity of the public should always be rejoiced in, whatever may be our
private afflictions or misfortunes. But you have no reason whatever to com
plain. Your case is the lot of every youth of your profession. The world cannot
be forced. Time must be taken to become known in any situation : but your
sudden appearance in a city where you had not studied, renders it still more im
possible that you should suddenly get in business." John Adams to John Quincy
Adams, December 8, 1790. Ms.

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 65

LETTERS OF PUBLICOLA1

I2

MR. RUSSELL,

SIR, The late Revolution in France has opened an extensive
field of speculation to the philosopher and to the politician. An
event so astonishing and unexpected in its nature, and so im-

1 Painc's Rights of Man, written in reply to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution
in France (1790), appeared in London early in 1791, with a dedication to
George Washington. A copy reached the hands of John Becklcy, clerk
of the House of Representatives, and passing through Madison was read by
JcfTcrson. From him it reached the printer, with a letter expressing gratification
that it was to be reprinted, and something said against the political heresies
prevajcnt in the United States. "I was thunderstruck," he wrote to Adams later,
"with seeing it come out at the head of the pamphlet. I hoped, however, it would
not attract notice." The explanation was somewhat lame, and naturally the replies
to Paine noticed Jefferson as the sponsor of the pamphlet. The pamphlet appeared
early in May, and the press at once began to print replies, a series in Fcnno
Jefferson believed to have been written by John Adams. See Jefferson to Washing
ton, May 8, 1791. Another series, signed "Publicola," began to appear in the
Columbian Centinel of Boston in June, attracting wide notice, and being generally
copied in the journals of the other States. Eleven of these letters were printed,
the first on June 8, and the last on July 27, and the subject as well as the treatment
gave rise to suspicion that John Adams was the author.

"Nobody doubts here who is the author of Publicola, any more than of Davila,"
wrote Jefferson to Madison, June 28, 1791. Nor would he accept the disavowal
of the Boston editor, that John Adams "has no more concern in the publication
of the writings of Publicola than the author of the Rights of Man himself." If,
commented Jefferson, "the equivoque here were not intended, the disavowal is
not entirely credited, because not from Mr. Adams himself, and because the stile
and sentiments raise so strong a presumption. Besides to produce any effect he
must disavow Davila and the Defence of the American Constitutions. A host of
writers have risen in favor of Paine, and prove that in this quarter at least the spirit
of republicanism is sound." Such a suspicion, when openly expressed, as it was
in the press, directed attention to the papers, which received greater notice than
their merits would seem to call for. They were widely copied by journals through
out the United States, and called out many replies, but few arguments. In Boston
"Brutus" answered in the Columbian Centinel, and "Agricola," "A Republican,"

1 Columbian Centinel, June 8, 1791.

66 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

portant in its consequences, naturally arrested the peculiar atten
tion of the whole civilized world. The friends of liberty and of
man have seen with pleasure the temples of despotism levelled
with the ground, and the Genius of Freedom rising suddenly in
his collected and irresistible strength, and snapping in an instant
all the cords with which, for centuries, he had been bound. Upon

"The Ploughman," and "The Watchman" in the Independent Chronicle. The plane
on which the discussion was conducted may be measured by the charge against
Publicola of favoring monarchy and aristocracy, which formed the principal burden
of these replies.

Madison wrote to Jefferson, July 13, 1791 : "Beckley . . . says . . . that Publi
cola is probably the manufacture of his son out of materials furnished by himself
[John Adams], and that the publication is generally as obnoxious in New England
as it appears to be in Pennsylvania. If young Adams be capable of giving the
dress in which Publicola presents himself, it is very probable he may have been made
the editor of his father's doctrines. I hardly think the printer would so directly
disavow the fact if Mr. Adams was himself the writer. There is more of method
also in the arguments, and much less of clumsiness and heaviness in the style, than
characterize his writings. I mentioned to you some time ago an extract from a
piece in the Poughkeepsie paper as a sensible comment on Mr. Adams's doctrines.
The whole has since been republished here, and is evidently from a better pen than
any of the Anti-publicolas I have seen. In Greenleaf's paper of to-day is a
second letter from the same quarter, which confirms the character I have given
of the author." Writings of James Madison (Hunt), VI. 56 n. An interchange
of letters on the subject passed between John Adams and Jefferson, but could not
entirely do away with a feeling on either side, that the publication marked a hostile
divergence of political beliefs and a personal participation in furthering newspaper
criticisms. Adams held Jefferson to be partly responsible for the publication of
Paine's pamphlet, and Jefferson believed that the publication would have proved
harmless had not Publicola raised such an outcry against it. See Works of John
Adams, VIII. 504-511; Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Ford), V. 328; Writings
of George Washington (Ford), XII. 37 n. The letters were reissued in London:
An/Answer/to/Paine's Rights of Man. /By/John Adams, Esq./. . . London:/
Printed for John Stockdale,/i793. Also in Edinburgh, as " Observations on Paine's
' Rights of Man,' " 179-. Extracts were read by Sir Archibald Macdonald, the
King's Attorney-General, in the trial of Thomas Paine in 1792.

Writing nearly two years later, his father said, "Poor Jay has gone through as
fiery an ordeal as I did, when I was suspected of a blasphemous doubt of Tom
Paine's infallibility, in consequence of Publicola's eloquence and Jefferson's rash
ness." To John Quincy Adams, August 25, 1795. Ms.

i79il JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 67

the downfall of the arbitrary system of government in France,
there appears to have been but one sentiment, and that senti
ment of exultation ; but while the friends of humanity have
rejoiced at the emancipation of so many millions of their fellow
creatures, they have waited with anxious expectation to see upon
what foundations they would attempt to establish their newly-
acquired liberty. The proceedings of their Representative As
sembly have been contemplated in very different points of view,
by men of names equally illustrious, and of characters equally
favourable to the cause of liberty. Among the publications
which have appeared upon the subject, two pamphlets, founded
upon very different principles, appear to have been received with
the greatest avidity, and seem calculated to leave the deepest
impression. The one written by Mr. Burke, which is one con
tinued invective upon almost all the proceedings of the National
Assembly since the Revolution, and which passes a severe and
indiscriminating censure upon almost all their transactions : The
other the production of Mr. Paine, containing a defence of the
Assembly, and approving every thing they have done, with ap
plause as undistinguishing as is the censure of Mr. Burke. \Ve
are told, that the copy from which an edition of this work was
reprinted at Philadelphia, was furnished by the Secretary of
State, and was accompanied by a letter, from which the follow
ing extract has been published in most of our newspapers. "I
am extremely pleased to find that it is to be re-printed here, and
that something is at length to be publicly said, against the politi
cal heresies which have sprung up among us. I have no doubt
our citizens will rally a second time round the standard of Com
mon Sense."

I confess, Sir, I am somewhat at a loss to determine, what this
very respectable gentleman means by political heresies. Does he
consider this pamphlet of Mr. Paine's as the canonical book of
political scripture ? As containing the true doctrine of popular
infallibility, from which it would be heretical to depart in one
single point ? The expressions, indeed, imply more ; they seem,

68 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

like the Arabian prophet, to call upon all true believers in the
Islam of democracy, to draw their swords, and, in the fervour of
their devotion, to compel all their countrymen to cry out, "There
is but one Goddess of Liberty, and Common Sense is her prophet."

I have always understood, Sir, that the citizens of these States
were possessed of a full and entire freedom of opinion upon all
subjects, civil as well as religious ; they have not yet established
any infallible criterion of orthodoxy, either in church or state :
their principles in theory, and their habits in practice, are equally
averse to that slavery of the mind, which adopts, without examina
tion, any sentiment that has the sanction of a venerable name.
Nullius in verba jurare magistri is their favorite maxime ; and the
only political tenet which they would stigmatize with the name
of heresy, would be that which should attempt to impose an
opinion upon their understandings upon the single principle of
authority.

I believe, also, Sir, that the citizens of America are not at
present disposed to rally round the standard of any man. In
the full possession and enjoyment of all the freedom, for which
they have gone through so arduous a conflict, they will not, for
the poor purpose of extinguishing a few supposed political heresies,
return to the horrors of a civil contest, from which they could
reap no possible benefit, and which would probably terminate in
the loss of that liberty for which they have been so liberal of their
treasure and of their blood.

If, however, Mr. Paine is to be adopted as the holy father of
our political faith, and this pamphlet is to be considered as his
Papal Bull of infallible virtue, let us at least examine what it
contains. Before we determine to join the standard, let us in
quire what are the articles of war to which our General requires
our submission. It is the glorious characteristic of truth, at once
to invite and bid defiance to investigation. If any opinions
which have sprung up among us have really led us astray from
the standard of truth, let us return to it, at the call of Mr. Paine,
or of any other man who can show us our errors. But, Sir, if

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 69

upon examination, even this testament of orthodoxy shall be
found to contain many spurious texts, false in their principles
and delusive in their inferences, we may be permitted, notwith
standing our reverence for the author, at least to expunge the
apocryphal doctrine, and to confine our faith to the genuine
tenets of real political inspiration. It is my intention to submit
to the public a few observations, which have occurred to me
upon the perusal of this pamphlet, which has so clear and valid
a title to the public attention. But I must here observe, that I
wish to avoid every appearance of disrespect, either to the real
parent of this production, or to the gentleman who has stood its
sponsor in this country. Both these gentlemen are entitled to
the gratitude of their countrymen; the latter still renders impor
tant services in a very dignified station. He is a friend to free
inquiry upon every subject, and he will not be displeased to see
the sentiments which he has made his own by a public adoption,
canvassed with as much freedom as is consistent with the rever
ence due to his character.

II1

SIR, In that part of Mr. Paine's pamphlet which he has chosen
to call the miscellaneous chapter, he observes that, "when a man
in a long course attempts to steer his course by any thing else
than some polar truth or principle, he is sure to be lost." I have
sought for the polar principle to which his exertions were directed
in this publication, and I must acknowledge I have sought in
vain. His production is historical, political, miscellaneous, satiri
cal, and panegyrical. It is an encomium upon the National
Assembly of France. It is a commentary upon the rights of
man, inferring questionable deductions from unquestionable prin
ciples. It is a severe satire upon Mr. Burke and his pamphlet
upon the English Government, upon Kings, upon Nobility, and
Aristocracy; it is a narrative of several occurrences, connected
with the French Revolution, and it concludes with a kind of
1 Columbian Cfntinfl, June II, 1791.

70 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

prophetical impulse, in the expectation of an "European Congress
to patronize the progress of free government, and promote the civili
zation of nations with each other" The object which he promised
to himself, in this publication, is not so dubious as the principle
on which he wrote. His intention appears evidently to be, to
convince the people of Great Britain that they have neither
Liberty nor a Constitution — that their only possible means to
produce these blessings to themselves, is to "topple down head
long" their present government, and follow implicitly the example
of the French. As to the right, he scruples not to say, "that
which a whole nation chuses to do, it has a right to do." This
proposition is a part of what Mr. Paine calls a system of prin
ciples in opposition to those of Mr. Burke, and it is laid down
without any sort of qualification. It is not my intention to
defend the principles of Mr. Burke ; truth is the only object of
my pursuit, and I shall without hesitation refuse my assent to
every principle inconsistent with that, whether it proceeds from
Mr. Burke, Mr. Paine, or even from the illustrious National
Assembly of France. This principle, that a whole nation has a
right to do whatever it pleases, cannot in any sense whatever be
admitted as true. The eternal and immutable laws of justice and
of morality are paramount to all human legislation. The viola
tion of those laws is certainly within the power, but it is not among
the rights of nations. The power of a nation is the collected
power of all the individuals which compose it. The rights of a
nation are in like manner the collected rights of its individuals ;
and it must follow from thence, that the powers of a nation are
more extensive than its rights, in the very same proportion with
those of individuals. It is somewhat remarkable that, in speak
ing of the exercise of the particular right of forming a Constitu
tion, Mr. Paine himself denies to a nation that omnipotence which
he had before so liberally bestowed. For this same nation, which
has a right to do whatever it pleases, has no right to establish a
Government in hereditary succession. It is of infinite consequence,
that the distinction between power and right should be fully

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 71

acknowledged, and admitted as one of the fundamental principles
of Legislators. A whole nation, such as France, England, or
America, can act only by representation ; and the acts of the rep
resentative body must be considered as the acts of the nation.
We must go farther, and say, that the acts of the majority in the
Representative Assembly are the acts of the whole body, and
consequently of the whole nation. If, therefore, a majority thus
constituted are bound by no law human or divine, and have no
other rule but their sovereign will and pleasure to direct them,
what possible security can any citizen of the nation have for the
protection of his unalienable rights ? The principles of liberty
must still be the sport of arbitrary power, and the hideous form
of despotism must lay aside the diadem and the scepter, only to
assume the party-colored garments of democracy.

The system of principles upon which Mr. Paine advances
this assertion is intended to prove, that the English nation have
a right to destroy their present form of Government, and to erect
another. I am not disposed to deny this right, nor is it at present
necessary to examine whether Mr. Burke's opinions upon this
subject are not directed rather against the expediency than the
abstracted rights of such a measure. It may, however, not be
improper to trace the origin of Mr. Paine's arguments against the
principles maintained by Mr. Burke. Doctor Price has asserted,
that by "the principles of the Revolution in 1688 the people of
England had acquired the right, I. To choose their own Gov
ernors. 2. To cashier them for misconduct ; and, 3. To frame a
Government for themselves.'* Mr. Burke endeavors to prove
that the principles of the Revolution in 1688, so far from war
ranting any right of this kind, support a doctrine almost dia
metrically opposite. Mr. Paine, in reply, cuts the Gordian knot
at once, declares the Parliament of 1688 to have been downright
usurpers, censures them for having unwisely sent to Holland for a
King, denies the existence of a British Constitution, and invites
the people of England to overturn their present Government, and
to erect another upon the broad basis of national sovereignty,

72 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

and government by representation. As Mr. Paine has departed
altogether from the principles of the Revolution, and has torn
up by the roots all reasoning from the British Constitution, by
the denial of its existence, it becomes necessary to examine his
works upon the grounds which he has chosen to assume. If we
judge of the production from its apparent tendency, we may call
it an address to the English nation, attempting to prove that they
have a right to form a new Constitution, that it is expedient for
them immediately to exercise that right, and that, in the forma
tion of this Constitution, they can do no better than to imitate
the model set before them by the French National Assembly.
However immethodical his production is, I believe the whole of
its argumentative part may be referred to these three points. If
the subject were to affect only the British nation, we might leave
them to reason and act for themselves ; but, Sir, these are con
cerns equally important to all mankind ; and the citizens of
America are called upon from high authority to rally round the
standard of this champion of Revolutions. I shall therefore now
proceed to examine the reasons upon which he founds his opinions
relative to each of these points.

The people of England have, in common with other nations, a
natural and unalienable right to form a Constitution of Govern
ment, not because a whole nation has a right to do whatever it
chooses to do, but because Government being instituted for the
common security of the natural rights of every individual, it
must be liable to alterations whenever it becomes incompetent
for that purpose. The right of a people to legislate for succeed
ing generations derives all its authority from the consent of that
posterity who are bound by their laws ; and therefore the expres
sions of perpetuity used by the Parliament of 1688, contain no
absurdity; and expressions of a similar nature may be found in
all the Constitutions of the United States.

But, Sir, when this right is thus admitted in its fullest latitude,
it must also be admitted, that it ought never to be exercised but
in cases of extreme urgency : Every nation has a right as unques-

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 73

tionable to dissolve the bands of civil society, by which they are
united, and to return to that state of individual imbecility in
which man is supposed to have existed, previous to the formation
of the social compact. The people of America have been com
pelled, by an unaccountable necessity, distressing in its operation,
but glorious in its consequences, to exercise this right ; and when
ever a nation has no other alternative but the degradation of
slavery, or the formidable conflict of a Revolution, the generous
spirit of freedom will not hesitate a moment in the choice. Whether
the people of France were, at the period of their Revolution, re
duced to that unhappy situation, which rendered it absolutely
necessary to overthrow their whole system to its foundation, is a
question upon which the ablest patriots among themselves have
differed, and upon which we are inadequate to decide. Whether
the people of England are now in that calamitous predicament ?
is a question more proper for our discussion, and upon which I
shall take the liberty to examine the reasoning of Mr. Paine.

Ill1

SIR, In examining the question, whether the English nation
have a right, fundamentally to demolish their present form of
government ? it becomes necessary to inquire whether Mr. Paine's
assertion that there is no such thing as an English Constitution,
be really true ? This question may, perhaps, in some measure
affect the people of America. For if the government of Great
Britain is an usurpation, it may be worthy of consideration how
far we are bound by treaties, which do not reciprocally bind the
inhabitants of that island.

"A Constitution," says Mr. Paine, "is not a thing in name
only but in fact. It has not an ideal, but a real existence; and
wherever it cannot be produced in a visible form, there is none."
Mr. Paine should have gone farther, and told us, whether, like
a deed, it must be written on paper or parchment, or whether it

1 Columbian Centinel, June 15, 1791.

74 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

has a larger latitude, and may be engraved on stone, or carved
in wood ? From the tenor of his argument it should seem, that
he had only the American Constitutions in his mind, for excepting
them, I believe he would not find in all history, a government
which will come within his definition ; and of course, there never
was a people that had a Constitution, previous to the year 1776.
But the word with an idea affixed to it, had been in use, and com
monly understood, for centuries before that period, and therefore
Mr. Paine must, to suit his purpose, alter its acceptations, and in
the warmth of his zeal for Revolutions, endeavor to bring about
a revolution in language also. When all the most illustrious
Whig writers in England have contended for the liberty of their
country upon the principles of the English Constitution; when
the glorious Congress of 1774 declared, that "the inhabitants of
the English Colonies in North America were entitled to certain
rights by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English
Constitution, and the several charters or compacts," they knew
very well what they meant, and were perfectly understood by all
mankind. Mr. Paine says, that "a Constitution is to a Govern
ment, what the laws, made afterwards by that Government, are
to a court of judicature." But when the American States, by
their Constitutions, expressly adopted the whole body of the
common law, so far as it was applicable to their respective situa
tions, did they adopt nothing at all, because that law cannot be
produced in a visible form ? No, Sir, the Constitution of a coun
try is not the paper or parchment upon which the compact is
written, it is the system of fundamental laws, by which the people
have consented to be governed, which is always supposed to be
impressed upon the mind of every individual, and of which the
written or printed copies are nothing more than the evidence.

In this sense, Sir, the British nation have a Constitution, which
was for many years the admiration of the world ; the people of
America, with very good reason, have renounced some of its
defects and infirmities. But in defence of some of its principles,
they have fought and conquered. It is composed of a venerable

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 75

system of unwritten or customary laws, handed down from time
immemorial, and sanctioned by the accumulated experience of
ages ; and of a body of statutes enacted by an authority lawfully
competent to that purpose. Mr. Paine is certainly mistaken,
when he considers the British government as having originated in
the conquest of William of Normandy. This principle of being
governed by an oral or traditionary law, prevailed in England
eleven hundred years before that invasion. It has continued to
this day, and has been adopted by all the American States. I
hope they will never abolish a system so excellent, merely because
it cannot be produced in a visible form. The Constitution of
Great Britain is a Constitution of principles, not of articles, and
however frequently it may have been violated by tyrants, mo
narchical, aristocratical, or democratical, the people have always
found it expedient to restore the original foundation, while from
time to time they have been successful in improving and orna
menting the building.

The people of England are bound therefore by a social compact
now existing; and they have no right to demolish their Govern
ment, unless it be clearly incompetent for the purposes for which
it was instituted. They have delegated their whole collective
power to a Legislature, consisting of a King, Lords, and Commons,
and they have included even the power of altering the Constitu
tion itself. Should they abuse this power so that the nation
itself should be oppressed, and their rights to life, liberty and
property, instead of protection, should meet with tyranny, the
people would certainly be entitled to appeal in the last resort to
themselves, to resume the trust which has been so unworthily
betrayed, and (not to do whatever they should choose, but) to
form another Constitution, which should more permanently
secure the natural rights of the whole community. The same
may be said of the National Assembly of France, who, according
to Mr. Paine's idea, are possessed of the whole collective power
of the nation, and who seem, like him, to think they have a right
to do whatever they choose. Mr. Paine says that "the authority

76 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

of the present Assembly is different to what the authority of future
Assemblies will be." But if the present Assembly should decree
that all future National Assemblies should possess the same power
with themselves, it would certainly be binding as an article of
the Constitution. Mr. Paine, indeed, will not acknowledge this,
and it is the second right which he denies his nation, which at the
same time has a right to do every thing. Mr. Paine's ideas upon
this subject appear to have been formed by a partial adoption of
the principle upon which Rousseau founds the social compact.
But neither the principle of Rousseau, nor that of Mr. Paine, is
true. Rousseau contends that the social compact is formed by a
personal association of individuals, which must be unanimously
assented to, and which cannot possibly be made by a representa
tive body. I shall not at present spend my time in showing that
this is neither practicable nor even metaphysically true. I shall
only observe, that its operation would annihilate in an instant,
all the power of the National Assembly, and turn the whole body
of the American Constitutions, the pride of man, the glory of the
human understanding, into a mass of tyrannical and unfounded
usurpations. Mr. Paine does not go quite so far, but we must
examine whether his arguments are not equally wide from the
truth. "A Government," says he, "on the principles on which
constitutional Governments arising out of society are established,
cannot have the right of altering itself. Why not ? Because if it
had, it would be arbitrary." But this reason is not sufficient. A
nation in forming a social compact may delegate the whole of
their collective powers to ordinary legislatures, in perpetual suc
cession, and reserve only the right of refusing the abuse of those
powers ; and every other question relative to the reservation of
powers to the nation, must be only a question of expediency.
The same power which the present National Assembly possess in
France, is, by the English Constitution, constantly vested in the
King and Parliament of Great Britain ; and the people in both
kingdoms have the same right to resist and punish the abuse of
that power.

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 77

Surely, Sir, the people of the United States have a Constitu
tion, although they have given the power of making alterations
to those by whom it is administered, in conjunction with the
State Legislatures. Surely, the people of Massachusetts have a
Constitution, though it provides for certain alterations by the
ordinary Legislatures, and though, since it was formed, such
alterations have accordingly been made. The Constitutions of
several of the United States are expressly made alterable in every
part by their ordinary Legislatures. I think there is not one of
them but admits of alterations without recurring to "the nation
in its original character." Yet Mr. Paine will surely acknowledge,
that the American Constitutions arose out of the people, and not
over them. His principle, therefore, "that a Constitutional
Government cannot have the right of altering itself," is not true.
In forming their Constitution, a nation may reserve to themselves
such powers as they may think proper. They may reserve only
the unalienable right of resistance against tyranny. The people
of England have reserved only this right. The French National
Assembly have been in session more than two years to make laws
nominally paramount to their future Legislatures. I shall hazard
some observations upon this subject, when I attempt to follow
Mr. Paine through his comparison between the French and Eng
lish Constitutions. But as the English have delegated all their
power, I contend they have no right in their original character
to change their form of Government, unless it has become incom
petent for the purposes for which all Governments are instituted.
I am aware of the question which will occur here. Who is to
judge of this incompetency ? and I am aware of the triumphant
manner in which it may be asked. But a triumph is not my
object, and in the pursuit of truth I shall venture in my next
number to consider this subject.

IV1

SIR, I have assumed for a principle, that the English nation,
having delegated all their collective power, have no right in their
1 Columbian Centint'l, June 18, 1791.

78 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

%

original character to change their form of Government, unless it
has become absolutely inadequate to the purposes for which it
was instituted. The people themselves must, from the necessity
of the case, be the judges of this fact ; but if, in forming this judg
ment, and acting in pursuance of it, they proceed from passion,
and not from principle ; if they dissolve their compact, from an
idea that "they have a right to do whatever they choose," and
break the bands of society, in the forms of despotism, "because
such is their pleasure," they may indeed go through the operation
by the plenitude of their irresistible power ; but the nation will
meet with ample punishment in their own misery, and the leaders
who delude them, in the detestation of their own posterity. It is
not by adopting the malignity of a political satyrist, by convert
ing the sallies of wit into the maxims of truth or justice, or by
magnifying trivial imperfections into capital crimes, that a nation
will be justified in resorting to its original strength, to contend
against its delegated power. It is not now a mechanical horror
against the name of a king, or of aristocracy, nor a physical an
tipathy to the sound of an extravagant title, or to the sight of an
innocent riband that can authorise a people to lay violent hands
upon the Constitution, which protects their rights, and guards
their liberties. They must feel an actual deprivation of their
equal rights, and see an actual impossibility for their restoration
in any other manner, before they can have a right to lay their
hands on their swords, and appeal to Heaven. These are not the
principles of slavery ; they are the tenets of the only genuine
liberty, which consists in a mean equally distant from the despo
tism of an individual, as of a million. They are sanctioned by
our own uniform example, and will, I trust, never be departed
from by the most enlightened, and most virtuous people on the
globe. For sixteen years the people of America endured a con
tinual succession of every indignity, which the pride of dominion,
the insolence of power, and the rapacity of avarice, could inflict
upon them, before they could resolve to renounce an authority
three thousand miles distant from them ; and even then, they were

i7gi] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 79

so far from thinking they had a right to do whatever they chose,
that by the very act which renounced their connection with
Great Britain they exposed to the world their own sufferings, and
the various acts of tyranny which had compelled them "to ac
quiesce in the necessity which denounced the separation," and
"appealed to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of
their intentions." No, Sir, the venerable character who drew up
this declaration never could believe that the rights of a nation
have no other limits than its powers. Since the Revolution, the
people of the United States have again been compelled to form
a national Government, and in its formation proceeded in the same
spirit. The confederation was found totally incompetent for the
purposes for which it was instituted ; not from abuse of the
delegated powers, in those by whom it was administered, but
because scarcely any powers at all had been given. The ineffi
ciency of that system had long been fully demonstrated, and had
reduced us to extreme distress. The States, united but in name,
were upon the verge of general bankruptcy. Their credit, sunk
to the lowest ebb, was upon the point of expiring, and their ex
hausted treasury gave perpetually the lie to their public faith,
so often and so solemnly pledged. The forcible ties of a common
interest, directed to one great object during the war, were greatly
loosened by the accomplishment of that object, and the seeds of
mutual hostility were sown by the partial commercial regulations
of the respective States. The revenue laws which had been enacted
in several of the States were not able to support their credit, and
yet were so unequal in their operation, that numerous bodies of
men, in more than one of the States, appeared in open rebellion
against the mildest governments that ever were instituted. In
stead of the glorious reward which the people had expected for
their virtuous exertions, internal discord, and infamy abroad,
presented themselves in dreary perspective before them. At this
critical period, when the system to be annihilated was an empty
name, and there was only a Government to be formed, the national
Constitution was presented to the people of America " in

8o THE WRITINGS OF [1791

their original character " ; and even there its existence was to
depend upon the assent of nine States, that is, two-thirds of the
people. Very fortunately it has at length been freely adopted
by all the members of the Union ; but the extreme difficulty
which impeded the progress of its adoption, and the various
amendments, which, in many of the States, were in a manner
made the condition of their assent, exhibit the fullest evidence,
what a more than Herculean task it is to unite the opinions of a
free people, upon any system of government whatever.

Under the sanction of such authority, I venture to assert that
the people of England have no right to destroy their government,
unless in its operation the rights of the people are really oppressed,
and unless they have attempted in vain every constitutional
mode of obtaining redress. These principles ought to operate
with peculiar force upon the people of England, because, in the
uncertain and hazardous event of a revolution, they have more
to lose and less to gain, than any other European nation, and be
cause whatever they may acquire, must, in all probability, be
purchased at the expense of a civil war. When provision is made
for the alteration of a constitution, otherwise than by the common
legislative power, it may be done comparatively without difficulty
or danger; but where this power is already delegated, with the
other powers of legislation, the people cannot use it themselves,
except in their original, individual unrepresented character, and
they cannot acquire the right to act in that capacity, until the
power which they have thus conveyed in trust, has been abdicated
by the extreme abuses of its administration.

When Mr. Paine invited the people of England to destroy their
present Government and form another Constitution, he should have
given them sober reasoning and not flippant witticisms. He
should have explained to them the nature of the grievances by
which they are oppressed, and demonstrated the impossibility
of reforming the Government in its present organization. He
should have pointed out to them some possible method for them
to act in their original character, without a total dissolution of

i7Qi] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 81

civil society among them ; he should have proved what great
advantages they would reap as a nation from such a revolution,
without disguising the great dangers and formidable difficulties
with which it must be attended.

The principal and most dangerous abuses in the English Govern
ment arise less from the defects inherent in the Constitution, than
from the state of society; the universal venality and corruption
which pervade all classes of men in that kingdom, and which
a change of government could not reform. I shall consider this
subject more largely hereafter; but at present, with respect to
the expediency of a revolution in England, I must inquire how the
nation can be brought to act in their original character ? Mr.
Paine, perhaps, from the delicacy of his situation, has said nothing
openly upon this very important point. Yet, in two different
parts of his work, he seems obscurely to hint two methods for the
accomplishment of this object. When he compares the situation
of the citizens of London to that of the inhabitants of Paris just
before the taking of the Bastille, it seems as if it was with an inten
tion to recommend a similar insurrection for the purpose of dis
persing the Parliament, and expelling the King, which would
leave the nation without any government at all, and compel them
at all events to act in their original character. When he advises
" Revolutions by accommodation," he must probably mean, that
a convention should be called by act of Parliament to regenerate
their Constitution. I can not imagine any other method of answer
ing his purpose. Mr. Paine seems to think it as easy for a nation
to change its government, as for a man to change his coat; but I
confess, both the modes of proceeding which he suggests appear
to me to be liable to great objections.

V1

" There are in all European countries," says Mr. Paine, "a
large class of people of that description, which in England are
called the mob." It was by the people of this description that

1 Columbian Cfntinfl, June 22, 1791.
G

82 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

the Bastille in Paris was destroyed. In London there is no
Bastille to demolish ; but there is a government to overturn ; and
there is a King and Parliament, who must either be put to flight,
or compelled to call a convention for the purpose of forming a
Constitution. "In the commencement of a Revolution those
men are rather the followers of the camp than of the standard of
liberty, and have yet to be instructed how to reverence it." As
these men were made instrumental to the accomplishment of the
Revolution in France, Mr. Paine appears to intimate that they
may be employed for a similar purpose in England. I am as little
disposed as Mr. Paine can be, to reproach either the whole nation
to which they belong, or that unhappy class of human beings
themselves, for the devastation which they commit. They cannot
be considered as free agents, and therefore are neither the subjects
of praise or blame ; but the friend of humanity will be extremely
cautious how he ventures to put in action a tremendous power,
which is competent only to the purposes of destruction, and totally
incapable either to create or to preserve. This class of men, of
whom it is the happiness of Americans scarcely to be able to form
an idea, can be brought to act in concert upon no other principles
than those of a frantic enthusiasm and ungovernable fury ; their
profound ignorance and deplorable credulity make them proper
tools for any man who can inflame their passions, or alarm their
superstition; and as they have nothing to lose by the total dis
solution of civil society, their rage may be easily directed against
any victim which may be pointed out to them. They are alto
gether incapable of forming a rational judgment either upon the
principles or the motives of their own conduct; and whether the
object for which they are made to contend, be good or bad, the
brutal arm of power is all the assistance they can afford for its
accomplishment. To set in motion this inert mass, the eccentric
vivacity of a madman is infinitely better calculated than the sober
coolness of phlegmatic reason. They need only to be provoked and
irritated, and they never can in any other manner be called into
action. In the year 1780, they assembled at London to the num-

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 83

her of 60,000, under the direction of Lord GEORGE GORDON, and
carrying fire and slaughter before them, were upon the point of
giving the whole city of London to one undistinguished devasta
tion and destruction: and this, because the Parliament had miti
gated the severity of a sanguinary and tyrannical law of perse
cution against the Roman Catholics. Should these people be
taught that they have a right to do every thing, and that the titles
of Kings and Nobles, and the wealth of Bishops, are all usurpations
and robberies committed upon them, I believe it would not be
difficult to rouse their passions, and to prepare them for every
work of ruin and destruction. But, Sir, when they are once put
in motion, they soon get beyond all restraint and control. The
rights of man, to life, liberty, and property, oppose but a feeble
barrier to them ; the beauteous face of nature, and the elegant
refinements of art, the hoary head of wisdom, and the enchanting
smile of beauty, are all equally liable to become obnoxious to
them ; and as all their power consists in destruction, whatever
meets with their displeasure must be devoted to ruin. Could any
thing but an imperious, over-ruling necessity justify any man, or
body of men, for using a weapon like this to operate a Revolution
in Government ? Such indeed was the situation of the French
National Assembly, when they directed the electric fluid of this
popular frenzy against the ancient fabric of their monarchy.
They justly thought that no price could purchase too dearly the
fall of arbitrary power in an individual, but, perhaps, even they
were not aware of all the consequences which might follow from
committing the existence of the kingdom to the custody of a lawless
and desperate rabble.

But do the people of England labor under such intolerable
oppression, as would authorise any of their patriots to employ an
arm like this for their relief ? Suppose sixty thousand men should
again assemble round Westminster-hall, and with clubs and fire
brands for their sole arguments, should compel the Parliament
to call a convention to make a Constitution, what would be the
probable consequences ? Is it clear that so large a majority of the

84 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

people of England have lost all their attachment to their Constitu
tion, as to insure an acquiescence in the measure throughout the
kingdom ? Is it certain that one quarter part of the people would
obey an act extorted by such violence as that ? Would not all
the friends of the present Government rally round the standard
of the Constitution, and would not their duty compel them to
defend it with their lives and fortunes ? If it should soon appear
that they were decidedly the strongest party, would not the in
surrection be extinguished in the blood of its leaders ? If the
parties should prove to be nearly equal, would not the nation be
involved in all the horrors of a long and bloody civil war ? In
whatever point of view, the effects of this scheme are contemplated,
they present nothing but prospects at which every friend of man
kind must shudder; nor can I possibly believe that Mr. Paine,
who is certainly a benevolent man, would deliberately recom
mend this method, though, in his ardent zeal for the honor of the
French nation, and the propagation of their doctrine, he has
incautiously suggested it.

But he recommends Revolutions by accommodation ; which,
applied to England, must mean that a convention be called by
a free and deliberate act of Parliament, to alter the Constitution ;
but this plan appears to be equally dangerous with the other, and
more impracticable; while, by a singular fatality, an act of this
kind would be the completest evidence of its own inutility, it would
be equally dangerous, because by a formal act of competent
authority it would expose the kingdom to all the evils of anarchy
and of war, which in the other case would result from a popular
convulsion. It would be less practicable, because it is contrary
to nature, that any body of men should venture to perform the
most transcendent act of power of which human beings are capable,
for the single purpose of divesting themselves of all power whatever.
It would prove its own inutility, because no man will presume that
they ought to take such a measure, unless the wishes of a clear
and decided majority of the people are favorable to an alteration
of the Government. If they are disposed to act in conformity

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 85

with the desires of the people, the very same power which would
authorise them to dissolve the Government, would likewise justify
them in making any alterations which would meet with the wishes
of the nation, and would render a recurrence to them" in their
original character " perfectly unnecessary.

Whatever Mr. Paine's opinion may be with respect to the
existence of an English Constitution, it is certain that every mem
ber of the British Parliament who gives his vote in the making
of a new law, or the alteration of an old one, must suppose that he
acts by virtue of a Constitutional right vested in him ; but the
same right which authorises him to give his suffrage in the most
trifling object of legislation, has vested in the Parliament, of which
he is a member, the whole power of the British nation, and he
cannot possibly deny their right without utterly destroying his
own. The right of the individual depends altogether upon the
right of the corporation, and his right to vote for the regulation
of a turnpike, or the toll of a bridge, is the same with theirs to make
every necessary and convenient alteration in the Constitution
of the kingdom itself. While they are thus convinced of their
right to exercise these great powers, would it not be the summit
of extravagance and folly in them, nay, would it not be the most
flagrant breach of the trust reposed in them, of which they could
possibly be guilty, to abdicate an authority lawfully committed
to them, to declare themselves altogether incompetent to a wise
and prudent use of a Constitutional power, and to commit the
peace, the welfare, the very existence of the nation, to the uncer
tain and hazardous event of a Revolution ?

If, however, we can suppose that the Parliament should finally
accede to the idea, that they are mere tyrants without the shadow
of a right to the authority which they have hitherto exercised, the
only act which they could agree to, would be a vote to dissolve
themselves, and leave the vessel of the state without either a pilot
or a rudder. For the very act of calling a convention would be
an usurpation, and, from the importance of its consequences, an
usurpation of the most daring nature : it would be assuming the

86 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

right to dissolve the ties of society, and at the same instant ac
knowledging that this assumed right was without any sort of
foundation. In short, this plan of calling a convention to alter
the Constitution, by act of Parliament, appears to me, in what
ever light it be considered, to involve an absurdity.

But, as there is unquestionably somewhere in England, a com
bination of the right and of the power to alter the Constitution
of the country, and as that Constitution is indubitably liable to
be improved, we may be permitted to inquire, whether a blind
imitation of the French National Assembly would probably pro
mote the happiness of the people, the only objects for which all
Governments were instituted, or which can authorise their altera
tion.

VI1

SIR, Mr. Paine affirms that the French nation have a Constitu
tion, and that the English have none. I have already offered a
few observations upon the latter part of this assertion ; but, as a
preliminary to some remarks which I propose to make upon his
comparison, I must premise, that directly the reverse of his
opinion upon this subject is the truth, and that in reality the Eng
lish nation have a Constitution, and the French as yet have none.
The National Assembly have indeed been constantly sitting these
two years, to form a Constitution ; and at the ceremony of the
Federation about eleven months since, they swore themselves and
their King to the observance of a Constitution to be made. But
as they are still possessed of the whole power of the nation, they
may repeal any article upon which they have hitherto agreed, by
virtue of the same authority, which enabled them to pass the
decree, and, therefore, according to Mr. Paine's own ideas, the
French cannot be said to have a Constitution, until the National
Assembly shall please to dissolve themselves, and to put their
whole system into full operation.

I have endeavored to show that it is not absolutely essential

1 Columbian Centinel, June 29, 1791.

i7Qi] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 87

to the existence of a Constitution, that it should be producible
"in a visible form." The period of time when the foundations
of the present English Government were laid by the association
of the people in "their original character" cannot, indeed, be
ascertained. Many of the laws which are in use to this day in
Great Britain, and from thence have been adopted by the American
Republics, may be traced back to the remotest period of antiquity,
and the origin even of the institution of Juries, an institution so
congenial to the genuine spirit of freedom, is lost in the obscurity
of the fabulous ages. Many of the fundamental principles of the
English Constitution are known to have existed long before the
invention of printing, and even before the inhabitants of Britain
were acquainted with the use of letters, and it would therefore be
an absurdity to require that the original articles should be produced
"in a visible form." But "ex nihilo, nihilfit" the very existence
of these principles proves the formation of a social compact pre
vious to that existence, and the spirit of liberty, which is their
distinguishing characteristic, affords internal evidence, that they did
not originate in the merciless despotism of a conqueror, but in the
free and unrestrained consent of a manly and generous people. It
will not be said that an original compact was never formed, because
it is not recorded in the page of history; as well might it be pre
tended that the pyramids of Egypt arose self-created from the
earth, because the time of their erection, and the names of their
builders have been consigned to that oblivion in which all human
labors are destined to be overwhelmed.

William of Normandy, to whom Mr. Paine always refers the
origin of the English Government, was the conqueror only of
Harold. He obtained the crown of England by popular election,
upon the express condition that he would govern the nation accord
ing to her ancient laws and customs ; he took the same oath at his
coronation which had been taken by his predecessors, and by his
last will, after bequeathing the province of Normandy to his eldest
son Robert, he expressly acknowledged that he did not possess the
kingdom of England as an inheritance, and only recommended his

88 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

son William as his successor. It would be altogether unnecessary
at this time to discuss the question whether the crown of England
was originally hereditary or elective, but the facts which I have
here stated, and which are warranted by all the most ancient and
most authentic English historians, fully demonstrate that the
English Government did not originate in the Norman conquest.
"If the succession runs in the line of the conquest, the nation runs
in the line of being conquered, and it ought to rescue itself from
this reproach," says Mr. Paine. "The victory obtained at Hast
ings not being a victory over the nation collectively, but only over
the person of Harold, the only right that the conqueror could
pretend to acquire thereby, was the right to possess the crown
of England, not to alter the nature of the Government" says Judge
Blackstone (i Comm. 199). Upon a question of fact relative to
the English Constitution, Blackstone is, I believe, as good an
authority as Mr. Paine, but I wish not to rest the question upon
any authority whatever : I venture to affirm, that any man who
will coolly and impartially examine the subject, and appeal to the
original sources of information, will acknowledge that those who
derive the origin of the English Government from William the Con
queror, can do it upon no other principle than that of supporting
a system.

It is not, however, necessary upon the present occasion to
revive a question which has been discussed among the English with
all the acrimony of faction. Mr. Paine has chosen the ground which
was not found tenable by the slavish supporters of passive obedience
and the divine right of Kings. They took it originally, because
it was necessary to them for the support of their system, and
they were driven from it by the friends and supporters of equal
liberty. Mr. Paine found it necessary to support a doctrine of
a very different nature ; and adopting the maxim, that it is lawful
to learn, even from our enemies, he has freely borrowed from them
the practice of accommodating the facts of history to his political
purposes.

Be that, however, as it may, the Parliament of Great Britain,

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 89

from time to time, have enacted certain laws, which, from their
superior importance, have been denominated Constitutional ;
the acquiescence of the people, to whom most of these laws have
been extremely satisfactory, gives them at least as good a sanc
tion as the Constitution of France has obtained. The National
Assembly were not originally chosen to form a Constitution.
They were called together as States General, under the authority
of another Constitution, such as it was. They assumed the power
to dissolve the old Constitution, and to form another, and the ac
quiescence of the people has confirmed their assumption. At
all events, therefore, their Constitution stands upon no better
ground than the acts of the British Parliament.

If, then, the Parliament of Great Britain have a right to declare
what shall be the supreme law of the land, they will be able to
produce a system of Constitutional law, even according to Mr.
Paine's wish, "in a visible form." This system is contained in a
number of statutes, enacted not at one time, or by one body of
men, but at divers times, according to the occasional conven
ience of the people, and by a competent authority. These statutes
contain the principles upon which the English Government is
founded, and are therefore proper objects of comparison with the
Constitution which is to be the supreme law of the land in France.
The comparisons which Mr. Paine has drawn are not partially
favorable to his native country. We shall enquire whether they
are perfectly consistent with truth.

VII1

SIR, By the English Constitution, the whole collective power of
the nation is delegated, and the Constitution itself is alterable
by the same authority which is competent to the common pur
poses of legislation.

The French are to have a Constitution, every part of which
will be nominally beyond the control of their common legislatures,

1 Columbian Centinel, July 2, 1791.

90 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

and which will be unalterable in all parts, except by the nation
in its "original character." At least Mr. Paine has undertaken
to answer for them that it will be so : although I have not seen any
such article in the Constitution, and though perhaps it has not yet
been decreed, I am willing to take Mr. Paine's word for the fact,
and to consider the subject as if it were already determined.

I have made some observations upon Mr. Paine's arguments,
as they respect the right of a nation to delegate all their power.
As a question of expediency, it may perhaps be more difficult to
determine, which of these two schemes contains the least evil.
Both of them are supported by the example of several among the
American States, and can therefore boast the sanction of authorities
equally respectable.

The fundamental principle upon which society is formed appears
to be, in order that the power of the whole may be rendered sub
servient to the interests of the whole. The problem to solve is,
in what manner the power shall be distributed, so as most effec
tually to answer that purpose ? Considering the extreme diffi
culty with which a whole nation can be brought to act in their
original character, it should seem, that wisdom must dictate to
them the necessity of delegating their whole power in such a
manner as that it may be rendered beneficial to the nation, because
whatever power is retained by the people, cannot be exercised
for their advantage any more than to their injury. The question
therefore occurs, why a nation should not delegate all its powers ?
Mr. Paine has bestowed very little consideration upon this subject;
I find, that although he gives his own opinion very freely, he offers
only two reasons to support it. One, because "such a Govern
ment would be arbitrary :" the other, because "there is a paradox
in the idea of vitiated bodies reforming themselves." In the
sense in which the word arbitrary is here used, the first argument
attacks the foundation of civil society itself; for whenever a
number of individuals associate together, and form themselves
into a body politic, called a nation, the possession and the use of
the whole power (which is not, however, arbitrary power) is the

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 91

very object of their association. This power must exist some
where, and I cannot see the reason why it should not exist for
the benefit of the people. But whenever a Constitution is made
unalterable by the common legislative authority, the nation do in
reality abdicate all the powers which they are said to retain,
and declare that very important powers shall at all events be useless
to them, from an apprehension that they might possibly be abused
to their injury. It is as if a man should bind himself never to wear
a sword, lest he should turn it against his own breast. The only
reason why the whole power of a nation should not be delegated,
must arise from the danger of its being abused : and a melancholy
experience has always shown, that when the whole power has been
thus delegated to one man, or to one body of men, it has invariably
been grossly abused, and the sword of the people has been turned
into a dagger against them. From the pressure of those evils,
many nations have been induced expressly to forbid their govern
ments the use of certain powers, without considering that the
impotence of their supreme authority would certainly be very
prejudicial to them, and perhaps as fatal as the abuse of power.
This experiment has repeatedly been made; it has frequently
failed : and I believe, that after several more experiments shall
fully demonstrate the ill policies of thus annihilating the power of
the nation, it will be clearly seen, that all the powers of the people
ought to be delegated for their benefit, and that their true interest
consists in the distribution of those powers in such a manner as
shall, in its own operation, guard against the abuses which alone
are dangerous to the people.

The Constitution of the United States appears to me to unite
all the advantages, both of the French and of the English, while
it has avoided the evils of both. By that Constitution, the
people have delegated the power of alteration, by vesting it in the
Congress, together with the State Legislatures; while at the same
time it has provided for alterations by the people themselves in
their original character, whenever it shall evidently appear to be
the wish of the people to make them. This article appears to be

92 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

replete with wisdom ; I believe it will stand the test of the severest
examination, though, according to the ideas emanating from Mr.
Paine, and coming to us, at the same time, by reflection from the
Secretary of State, it contains a very dangerous political heresy.

It is a maxim which will not, I trust, be disputed, that no
Government, of which the people is not a constituent part, can
secure their equal rights ; but where this is the case, to cramp
the operations of their own Government with unnecessary re
strictions, and forbid themselves to enact useful laws, what is it
but to defeat the purposes of society by the very act which gives
it a permanent existence ; to tie their own hands from an imaginary
apprehension, that if left at liberty, they would administer poison to
the body which nourishes them.

It is in the distribution of the national powers, it is in the inde
pendent spirit of the people, and not in the manuscript limitations
of the legislative authority, that a nation is to secure the protection
of its liberties. In this commonwealth we have a Constitution,
most parts of which are unalterable by our ordinary Legislatures ;
it has existed but ten years : and already its operation has con
vinced us all, that several alterations in the system would be highly
expedient. Our Legislative body would be fully competent to the
purpose, and, if they had the power, would readily make such
alterations as might suit the convenience of the people ; but they
have no authority to act in these cases for the benefit of the people ;
and as the inconveniences to which this injudicious jealousy has
subjected us, are not at this time of such importance, as to render
the alterations of immediate or absolute necessity, we must wait
our appointed time, and patiently submit to the operation of bad
laws, because we have not chosen to invest our Legislature with the
power of making good ones. Let us not be frightened, however,
from the pursuit of our common interest by the words arbitrary
power. Distribute the whole of your power in such a manner, as
will necessarily prevent any one man, or body of men, or any possible
combination of individual interests, from being arbitrary, but do
not incumber your own representatives with shackles, prejudicial

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 93

to your own interests ; nor suffer yourselves, like the Spanish
Monarch of ridiculous memory, to be roasted to death, by denying
to your servants the power of removing the fire from before you.

But although a Constitution, professedly unalterable by the
common legislative authority, is of weight sufficient to prevent
the enacting of many good laws, yet it will not always operate as a
check upon your legislature. Such is the poverty of all human
labors, that even a whole nation cannot express themselves upon
paper with so much accuracy and precision, as not to admit of
much latitude of explanation and construction. The Legislature
must always be allowed to judge of the intentions with which the
instrument was formed, and to construe and explain accordingly
the expressions which it contains. They some times think proper
to violate the letter of the Constitution by adhering to its spirit,
and at other times they sacrifice the spirit by adhering strictly
to the letter. But when your Legislature undertakes to decide
that the spirit of the Constitution is directly contrary to its express
letter, where is the power in the nation that should control them ?
The same power which will always be sufficient to control a Legis
lature, of which the people are a constituent part; it is the spirit
of the people. Let your legislative and executive authorities be
so constituted, as to prevent every essential, or dangerous abuse
of the powers delegated, but depend upon the honest and en
lightened spirit of the people for a security which you never will
obtain, by merely withholding your powers, unless that spirit
should be constantly kept up. Divide your power so that every
part of it may at all times be used for your advantage, but in such
a manner, that your rights may never depend upon the will of any
one man or body of men ; entrust even the power of altering your
Constitution itself, because occasion may arise, when the use even
of that power may be absolutely necessary for your own welfare;
when, at the same time, it may be impossible for you to act in your
original character, with the expedition necessary for your salvation :
but reserve to yourselves a concurrent power of altering the
Constitution in your own persons, because by the decay to which

94 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

all the works of man are liable, it is possible that your Legislature
may become incompetent to make such alterations as may be
necessary. But when the people are constantly represented in
the Legislature, I believe they will never find it necessary to re
cur to their original character, in order to make any alterations,
which they may deem expedient, unless they deny the power of
making them to their Legislature.

"But," says Mr. Paine, "there is a paradox in the idea of
vitiated bodies reforming themselves." This must depend alto
gether upon the coincidence of the part vitiated with the part which
is to apply the remedy ; for unless the defect itself necessarily pre
cludes the possibility of applying the power of reformation, the
paradox ceases, and no more involves an absurdity, than that a
physician should use his own prescriptions to cure himself of a dis
order.

The very act by which septennial Parliaments were established
in England, affords sufficient proof that the power of altering
the constitution itself ought to be delegated, and even exercised
by the Government upon certain critical occasions. That act
was made at a time when the kingdom was threatened with an
immediate invasion, when a rebellion had but just been quelled, and
when the peace and safety of the nation depended upon the use of
this power by the Parliament ; such was the opinion of the people
at that time, and the act met with general approbation, from the
general conviction of its necessity. Such occasions may happen in
the history of every free people, and it is therefore proper that the
power should be delegated. Upon the principles of equal liberty,
upon the principles of public happiness, and therefore of political
expedience, I think it may be fairly concluded, that Mr. Paine's
preference of the French to the English constitution, so far as it
relates to this article, is not founded in truth.1

1 "Publicola has been reprinted in all the most respectable papers to the south
ward. His animadverters, not answerers, swarm like Bees, and, like Drone Bees
they only buz.

" SIT" As it has been asserted in one of the Philadelphia newspapers, that the
papers under the signature of Publicola, were written by the VICE PRESIDENT, in

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 95

VIII1

Mr. Paine has undertaken to compare the English and French
constitutions, upon the article of representation. He has of course
admired the latter, and censured the former. This is unquestion
ably the most defective part of the English constitution, but even
the most essential of these defects appear to flow from the natural
order of things which a revolution in government could not reform ;
from a state of society, when every principle of religion or of moral
ity has lost its influence, and where the only shadow of virtue,
public or private, remaining among a great majority of the people,
is founded upon an imaginary point of honor, the relict of the
exploded age of chivalry. Such at present is the situation of the
national character both in England and in France. To attempt to
govern a nation like this, under the form of a democracy, to pretend
to establish over such beings a government which according to
Rousseau is calculated only for a republic of Gods, and which
requires the continual exercise of virtues beyond the reach of
human infirmity, even in its best estate ; it may possibly be among
the dreams of Mr. Paine, but it is what even the National Assembly
have not ventured to do; their system will avoid some of the
defects, which the decays of time and the mutability of human
affairs have introduced into that of the English, but I do not
hesitate to affirm that they have departed much further from the es
sential principles of popular representation, and that however their
attachment to republican principles may have been celebrated,
the theory of their National Assembly is more remote from the
spirit of democracy than the practice of the English House of
Commons.

The ground upon which Mr. Paine acknowledges his approbation
of the French constitution are that they have limited the number of
their representatives, in proportion to the numbers of citizens

justice to that pcntleman, and the publick, they are assured that he has no more
concern in the publication, than the author of ' Rights of Man ' himself." Columbian
Cfntinel, July 2, 1791.

1 Columbian Centinfl, July 9, 1791.

96 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

who pay a tax of 60 sous per annum, and the duration of the
assembly to two years. It is certainly essential to the principles
of representation that there should be a frequent recurrence to the
constituent body for election, because it is the only security of
the constituent for the fidelity of the agent. It is the only practical
responsibility by which the representative is bound. The term
of seven years for which the House of Commons is elected, weakens
the responsibility too much, and is a proper object of constitutional
reform ; but by the French constitutions, there is no responsibility
at all ; no connexion between the representative and his constituent :
The people have not even once in seven years an opportunity to
dismiss a servant who may have displeased them, or to re-elect
another who may have given them satisfaction. There is upon
the French system less dependence of the representative upon his
constituent than in England, and the mode of election renders the
biennial return of the choice almost wholly nugatory. It is
not true that the French constitution allows the privilege of
voting for a representative in the National Assembly to every man
who pays a tax of 60 sous per annum. Mr. Paine has mistaken
the fact, for it is impossible that he should have intentionally
misrepresented it; though it differs almost as much from his
principles as from those of a real popular representation. It
is as follows. Every Frenchman born or naturalized, of 23
years of age, who pays a tax equal to three days' labor, is not a
hired servant, nor a bankrupt, nor the son of a deceased bank
rupt (a very unjust qualification), shall be allowed to vote for —
what ? A representative to the National Assembly ? By no
means. Yet one would think the exclusions sufficiently severe,
for a government founded upon the equal rights of all men ; but he
shall vote for members of a certain assembly; this assembly is
allowed to choose, not the representatives of the nation, but
another body of electors, who are to be the immediate constituents
of the legislative assembly. Thus the supreme legislative council
of the nation, are to be the representatives of a representative body,
whose constituents are the representatives of the people; and at

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 97

every stage of this complicated representation, the free citizens
of the state, are excluded from their natural rights, by additional
qualifications in point of property. Yet this is the system which
we are told is to abolish aristocracy.

In the formation of the legislative body, the National Assembly
contemplated three different objects of representation, the persons
of the people, their property, and the territory which they inhabit :
They have endeavored to establish a proportion compounded
from the three, but in the refinement of their metaphysics and
mathematics, they have lost the primary object itself, and the
people are not represented.

But setting aside their calculations, what is the essential prin
ciple upon which the representation of the people in the legis
lature is to be grounded ? It is, that a Freeman shall never be
bound by any law unless he has consented to it. It is impossible,
except in a very small state, that every individual should personally
give his voice, and therefore this practice of voting by representa
tion was invented. In its most perfect state it cannot fully answer
the purpose of its institution, because every representative is
actuated by several powerful motives, which could not operate
upon his constituents. It is an artificial democracy, which never
can perform completely the functions of the natural democracy;
but imperfect as it always must be, no other contrivance has been
hitherto devised, which could so effectually give their operation
to the opinions of the people. In the theory of representation it
is a personal trust, by which a thousand individuals may authorise
one man to express their sentiments upon every law which may be
enacted for the benefit of the whole people : and therefore in
theory every representative ought to be elected by the unanimous
vote of his constituents ; for how can a man be said to have been
consulted in the formation of a law, when the agent authorised to
express his opinion was not the man of his choice ? Every pecuniary
qualification imposed either on the electors or as a condition of
elegibility, is an additional restriction upon the natural democracy,
and weakens the original purpose of the institution. Thus far the

98 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

people of America have submitted to necessity in the constitution
of their popular assemblies. But when the principle is abandoned
so completely, that the individual citizen, even in the pretended
exercise of his infinitesimal fragment of sovereignty cannot
possibly form an opinion, who will be the elector of the represen
tative that is to be the depositary of his opinion in the acts of legis
lation ? The assembly thus formed may indeed assume the name
of a democracy, but it will no more be entitled to the appellation
than an ill drawn miniature portrait, to that of the animated
original which it may profess to represent.

It is obvious that the reason why the National Assembly have
chosen to refine their representation through so many strainers
was to avoid the violence, the tumults, the riots which render
almost all the populous towns in England a scene of war and
blood at the period of Parliamentary elections. Time alone will
inform us what the success of their system will be, even in this
particular. Their elections, however, must be extremely ex
pensive, and must open a thousand avenues to every sort of
intrigue and venality. The National Assembly as a body, will be
in theory an aristocracy without responsibility. This aristocracy
thus constituted are to possess the supreme power of the nation,
limited only by a printed constitution subject to their own con
struction and explanation.

Happy, thrice happy the people of America ! whose gentle
ness of manners and habits of virtue are still sufficient to reconcile
the enjoyment of their natural rights, with the peace and tran
quillity of their country ; whose principles of religious liberty
did not result from an indiscriminate contempt of all religion
whatever, and whose equal representation in their legislative
councils was founded upon an equality really existing among
them, and not upon the metaphysical speculations of fanciful
politicians, vainly contending against the unalterable course of
events, and the established order of nature.

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 99

IX1

From the existence of game laws and of monopolies in England,
Mr. Paine infers the wisdom of the National Assembly, who have
decreed, that there shall be none in France. I shall not defend
the game laws or the monopolies allowed in England ; Mr. Paine's
comparisons are made with the professed intention of showing the
superiority of the French Constitution, and he has therefore always
chosen his own ground of comparison. He might have pursued a
system more consistent with truth and candor, but it would not
have answered his purpose so effectually. The true drift of Mr.
Paine's argument in this instance is this, The English Parliament
have enacted game laws that operate unequally. They have allowed
more monopolies than are advantageous to the people; therefore the
Legislature of a nation ought not to have the poiver to make any lazes
at all, relative either to game, or to monopolies. This is Mr. Paine's
principle, and it is the real ground upon which he prefers the
French Constitution, not merely to that of England, but to those
of every State in the American union. He infers that the English
Constitution is bad, because under that Constitution certain bad
laws have been enacted, and are not yet repealed. And he con
cludes that the French Constitution is excellent, because the
universal freedom of the chase, and the universal freedom of
trade are placed beyond the control of their Legislature. But the
preservation of game is an object of public concern, and the Legis
lature of every country ought to have the power of making game
laws for the benefit of the public. Whether the English Parliament
have exerted unwisely this power which has been delegated to
them or not, is a question altogether foreign to the purpose ; we
know that bad laws exist in every country under Heaven, but it is
strange reasoning, to infer from thence, that there ought not to
exist in the nation a power to make good ones. All the Legislatures
in the United States have the power to enact game laws and to
allow monopolies. They all of them exercise this power. We have

1 Columbian Centinel, July 13, 1791.

ioo THE WRITINGS OF [1791

game laws and monopolies in this Commonwealth, and yet no
man complains that they are destructive to his liberty. If the
French Constitution has placed the regulation of those objects
beyond the reach of their ordinary legislative authority, they will
soon find by their experiences of inconveniencies that the goodness
of a Constitution does not depend upon the impotence of the
Legislature.

In examining the next article it is utterly impossible for me to do
justice to the wit of Mr. Paine. The charge which he has so often
repeated against Mr. Burke's book cannot be made against this
production. You find here nothing of the "spouting rank of
high-toned exclamation : " You do not even find the delicate
sallies of elegant comedy. His own words must be quoted :
"The French Constitution says, that to preserve the National
representation from being corrupt, no member of the National
Assembly shall be an officer of the government, a placeman or a
pensioner. What will Mr. Burke place against this ? I will
whisper his answer : Loaves and Fishes " And then he proceeds
to show that the answer which he whispers for Mr. Burke is
very ridiculous. There is, it must be acknowledged, something
pleasant in this mode of managing an argument; but it is rather
unfortunate that Mr. Paine should complain as an abuse of the
English government, that it is "themselves accountable to them
selves," so near to a passage which is most assuredly "himself
undertaking to answer himself." Every person will acknowledge
that the answer of Loaves and Fishes is very absurd ; it is even too
absurd for Mr. Burke in his original character; and the only
circumstance that renders it perfectly accountable is, that it comes
from Mr. Burke by his representative, who certainly never had
from him any authority to misrepresent him so palpably.

Mr. Paine has seldom thought proper to answer even the few
arguments contained in the book which is so obnoxious to him :
Easy as it might have been to refute Mr. Burke's reasoning, he
probably thought it easier to refute his own : He has hunted for
epigrams where he ought to have sought arguments : In the

x7gi] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 101

pursuit of those epigrams he has been sometimes not unsuccessful
in exposing the absurdity of his own reasoning, but a less passionate
or more generous political polemic, would not have chosen to
place his own inconsistencies to the account of his antagonist.

Mr. Paine has not however grounded his preference to the
French Constitution upon truth, in this instance any more than in
the other. The principle of excluding placemen, pensioners and
executive officers from the national representation is acknowledged
by the laws under the English Constitution as well as in that of
France. The only possible advantage which the French can
pretend to, is, that they have been more successful in its appli
cation. Mr. Paine might have said that it was not sufficiently
extended by the English laws, and that it was by the French ; and
his opinion would have had its weight; but this would not answer
his purpose; the French Constitution must at all events have a
triumph ; and a system so odious as the English government, was
not entitled to the benefits of common truth and justice. There
are however several acts of Parliament; expressly excluding a
great variety of placemen, pensioners and officers dependent upon
the executive authority, from holding seats in the House of
Commons. With respect to pensioners their principle is more
equitable than the total exclusion of the French. Every person
holding a pension at the pleasure of the King, or for a term of years
is excluded, because such a man may be too liable to be under
the influence of the executive power; but if a man has received a
pension for life, as a reward for services rendered his country,
a pension which carries no dependence, and which can have no
effect upon the legislative conduct of the person entitled to it,
neither the English nor the Americans think that former services
are a regular disqualification for the future; nor are they disposed
to deprive any man of an invaluable privilege, merely because
they have paid him for hazarding his life perhaps, or his fortune in
their service.

But, says Mr. Paine, by the English Constitution "those who
vote the supplies are the same persons who receive the supplies

102 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

when voted, and are to account for the expenditure of those supplies
to those who voted them ; it is themselves accountable to them
selves." This to be sure is very ingenious, but it is not in any
sense true. The persons who vote the supplies are the House of
Commons, the representatives of the nation : To them the King's
ministers (and principally the Chancellor of the Exchequer) are
accountable for the expenditure of the monies voted. The ministers
may indeed be at the same time members of the House of Commons,
and the system is perhaps defective in allowing a few individuals
to be members of the body to whom they are accountable. It
may be inconvenient, but is not at all absurd, and is purposely
authorised by the English Constitution, because they con
sider the advantages as more than a balance for its incon
veniences. The minister of the supreme executive office, states
to the representatives of the nation, the sums necessary to
defray the annual expenses of the kingdom. These repre
sentatives vote the assessment of such sums as they think
necessary, and make the appropriations. The ministers then
become accountable for the expenditures according to the
previous appropriations, to that body of which they are indeed
individual members, but of which they do not compose an hun
dredth part. Upon what principle then are we told that it is
themselves accountable to themselves ? They have indeed in
France taken great pains to secure the independence of the legis
lative upon the executive authority ; but they have not been
equally cautious on the other side. Their executive is left
totally at the mercy of the legislature, and must infallibly soon fall
a sacrifice to their ambition.

The discussion of this subject would lead me far beyond my
present intention. I have shown that the Constitution of England
has adopted the principle of excluding citizens dependent upon
the executive power, from the House of Commons ; the French
Constitution has done no more ; and if they have carried the appli
cation of the principle further, that circumstance does not warrant
the decided preference which Mr. Paine has so liberally bestowed :

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 103

Since it is only a difference of opinion upon the expediency of
particular exclusions.

X1

The next article upon which Mr. Paine has pronounced the
superiority of the French Constitution, is upon the subject of
making war and peace. The right, he says, is placed where the
expense is, that is, in the nation : Whereas "in England, the right
is said to reside in a metaphor, shown at the Tower for six pence
or a shilling a piece." He answers himself again in this passage,
and shows the folly of placing such a formidable right in a metaphor ;
but in this instance as in the former, there is much wit and no
truth; and I must take the liberty to affirm in contradiction to
Mr. Paine, that the French Constitution has not, nor could not
place the right of declaring war, where the expense must fall;
and that the English Constitution has not placed this right in a
metaphor.

The expense of supporting wars must in all countries be defrayed
by the nation, and every individual must bear his proportion of
the burthen. In free countries that proportion must always be
determined by the representatives of the people ; but the right of
deciding when it may be expedient to engage in a war, cannot
possibly be retained by the people of a populous and extensive
territory, it must be a delegated power; and the French Constitu
tion has vested it in the National Assembly. By the English
Constitution it is vested in the supreme executive officer; but
to guard against the abuse of this formidable power, it has given
to the representatives of the people, the exclusive right of providing
for the support of the war, and of withholding the supplies, "the
sinews of war," if it should ever be declared contrary to the sense
of the people themselves. Mr. Paine supposes a perplexity, which
is warranted neither by theory nor by the experience of history.
"If the one rashly declares war," says he, "as a matter of right;
and the other peremptorily withholds the supplies as a matter of

1 Columbian Centinfl, July 20, 1791.

104 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

right, the remedy becomes as bad or worse than the disease." But
every war in England must be the war of the people : The King is
in reality no more than the organ of the nation, and must be more
than an idiot to declare a war, upon which he must depend alto
gether upon them for its support, without being certain of that
support. Imaginary conclusions drawn by reasoning against the
inevitable order of things, are unworthy of a politician, and
should be left as a feeble resource for the satirist. To have given
his objection even an appearance of plausibility, Mr. Paine should
have mentioned an instance, when this clashing of the rights of the
King and of the Commons has ever been productive of the ill
effects which his fancy has sagaciously drawn from them.

Indeed Mr. Paine himself, upon further reflection, acknowledges
the futility of his objection, and says "that in the manner the
English nation is represented, it signifies not where this right
resides, whether in the Crown or in the Parliament." But I
apprehend, if the representation in England were as perfect as
human wisdom could devise, their present system with respect
to peace and war, would comprise all the advantages of the French
system, and at the same time be free from many inconveniences,
to which that must be liable.

It must be clear to every one that the French have not, as Mr.
Paine pretends, united the right and the expense: The impracti
cability of such an union, must be equally evident; and the only
question which can establish a fair ground of comparison, between
the two constitutions is, Whether it is expedient to delegate to the
legislative, or whether to the executive authority, the right of declaring
war.

As I am not yet a convert to Mr. Paine's opinion that a nation
has a right to do what it pleases, I must be allowed to say that they
have a right to make war upon their neighbors, without provocation.
The people by their representatives must judge, when the provoca
tion is sufficient to dissolve them from all the obligations of moral
ity and humanity, by which nations are bound to preserve the
blessings of peace. But when they have determined that the

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 105

great law of self-preservation, to which all other laws must give
way, or that the laws which they have enacted in consequence of
the primitive contract which united all their power for the benefit
of every individual, compel them to appeal for justice to the God
of battles, then, the declaration of war, the formal act, by which
they announce to the world their intention to employ the arm of
power in their own defence, seems to be the proper attribute of
the executive power. The difference, therefore, between the
English and French constitutions, considered in this light, can
involve only a question of propriety, and as such the English
appears to me to deserve the preference.

If this idea should be considered as heretical, I must beg leave
to call to my assistance the authority of Rousseau, a name still
more respectable than that of Mr. Paine, because death has
given the ultimate sanction to his reputation. "The act of
declaring war," says he in his Social Compact, "and that of making
peace, have been considered as acts of sovereignty, which is not
the case; for either of those acts is not a law, but only an applica
tion of the law; a particular act which determines the operation
of the law, as will be clearly perceived when the idea annexed
to the word law shall be ascertained." The spirit of the English
constitution is perfectly agreeable to this idea.

But let us consider this subject a little further. Whenever a
difference arises between two nations which may terminate in a
war, it is proper and customary, that previous negotiations should
be held, in order to use every possible means of settling amicably
the dispute. These negotiations, the appointment of the agents
by whom they are to be conducted, and the communication of the
proposals for accommodation, which are respectively offered by
either of the parties, are all appropriated to the executive depart
ment. When the restoration of peace becomes expedient in the
opinion of the people, agents must again be appointed, and pro
posals of pacification must again be made. It is obvious to every
man, that in the management of these concerns the utmost secrecy
and despatch are frequently of essential necessity to the welfare

io6 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

of the people ; but what secrecy can ever be expected, when every
instruction to an ambassador, every article of a proposed treaty,
and every circumstance of information from the minister, in
the progress of his operations, must be known to twelve hundred
men assembled in the capital of the republic; what probability
of despatch, when all these things must be debated in this As
sembly of 1 200 men; where every thing must in the necessary
order of events be opposed, by interested individuals and irritated
factions, who may protract the discussion for months or years at
their pleasure.

By the Constitution of the United States, it is true, the right
of declaring war is vested in the Congress, that is, in the legislative
power. But it is in the point of form that it agrees with the
Constitution of France ; it has wisely placed the management
of all negotiations and treaties, and the appointment of all
agents and ministers in the executive department; and it
has so thoroughly adopted in this instance the principles
of the English Constitution, that although it has given the
Congress the right of declaring war, which is merely a difference of
form, it has vested in the President, with the advice of the Senate
as his executive council, the right of making peace, which is
implied in that of forming treaties. This is not the first instance
in which Mr. Paine's principles attack those of the constitutions
of his country. Highly as we may revere, however, the principles
which we are under every obligation to support, we may without
irreverence acknowledge that they partake of the human imperfec
tion from which they originated, and if Mr. Paine's principles
in opposition to them, are in any instance founded upon eternal
truth, we may indulge the hope, that every necessary improvement
will be adopted in a peaceable and amicable manner by the general
consent of the people. But if the principles of Mr. Paine, or
those of the French National Assembly, would lead us by a vain
and delusive pretence of an impracticable union, between the
right of declaring, and the expense of supporting a war, to the
sacrifice of principles founded in immutable truth, if they could

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 107

persuade us, by establishing in the legislative body all negotiations
with foreign nations relative to war and peace, to open a thousand
avenues for base intrigue, for furious faction, for foreign bribery,
and domestic treason, let us remain immoveably fixed at the
banners of our constitutional freedom, and not desert the im
pregnable fortress of our liberties, for the unsubstantial fabric
of visionary politicians.1

XI2

The papers under the signature of PUBLICOLA have called forth
a torrent of abuse, not upon their real author nor upon the senti
ments they express, but upon a supposed author, and supposed
sentiments.

With respect to the author, not one of the conjectures that have
appeared in the public prints has been well grounded. The \ ice-
President neither wrote nor corrected them ; he did not give his
sanction to an individual sentiment contained in them, nor did
they "go to the press under the assumed patronage of his son."

With respect to the sentiments, to those who have read the
pieces with attention, it is needless to say, that they are simply
an examination of certain principles and arguments contained

1 "It would secra as if Mr. Fenno and Mr. Russell had entered into a league
to insert the detestable heresies of Publicola, without publishing a single essay to
counteract their pernicious tendency. But it is to be hoped that the fx partf
perusal which Publicola obtains in this way will not procure many proselytes cither
to monarchy or aristocracy. Publicola seems to have some talents, but perverted
as they are, they are worse than thrown away. Like Burke he has attempted to
raise a structure upon a rotten foundation; and his tottering edifice, like that of
Burke, would soon have fallen into ruins of itself. Its fate, however, has been
accelerated by the numerous assailants it has had to encounter. It is a circum
stance highly honorable to the political character of our country, that an host of
enlightened writers have arisen, in every part of the United States, to oppose the
abominable heresies of Publicola." [Brown's] Federal Gazette, Philadelphia,
July, 1791. It was this journal that intimated a communication between John
Adams and Burke, and asserted that Publicola appeared in consequence of that
communication.

2 Columbian Centinel, July 27, 1791.

io8 THE WRITINGS OF [1791

in a late pamphlet of Mr. Paine's, which are supposed to be
directly opposite to principles acknowledged by the constitu
tions of our country. And the author challenges all the writers
who have appeared in support of Mr. Paine's infallibility, to
produce a single passage to these publications which has the most
distant tendency to recommend either a monarchy or an aristoc
racy to the citizens of these States.

The writer never had the intention to defend the corruptions
of the English Constitution ; nor even its principles in theory,
except such as were adopted in our own. Mr. Paine has drawn
a comparison between certain parts of the English and French
constitutions, in which are contained principles of government,
that are not acknowledged by our own constitutions. So far as
the principles of the English Constitution have been adopted by
the Americans, I have defended them, and I am firmly convinced,
that we cannot renounce them, without renouncing at the same time
the happy governments with which we are favored. The question
of superiority between the French and English constitutions, has
no connection with a question relative to monarchy. If this be
true, it must apply equally to the admirers of the French Constitu
tion, and Mr. Paine himself is chargeable with having supported a
monarchical institution. It is well known that by the French
Constitution, a standing army of near 300,000 men is estab
lished, and placed beyond the annihilating arm of legislature.
Is it possible that Mr. Paine should admire this Constitution, with
out being a friend to standing armies ? The argument is the same,
and the assertion might be made, with just as much truth, as that
PUBLICOLA is an advocate for monarchy or for aristocracy.

When Mr. Paine says that a whole nation (by which it is ad
mitted that he means a majority of the nation) have a right to
do what it chooses, and when he says that before the formation
of civil society every man has a natural right to judge in his own
cause, it appears to me that he resolves all right into power; it
is this opinion which I have combated, because it appears to me
to be of the most pernicious tendency, and if it is not really

i79i] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 109

contained in the pamphlet, I confess myself greatly mistaken.
But the enlightened writers, who have defended the principles of
Mr. Paine, differ so essentially in the ground they have taken,
that the one or the other would certainly have been charged with
propagating detestable heresies, had not the end sanctified the
means, and the object of defending Mr. Paine, reconciled the
inconsistency of their reasonings. One writer supports the prin
ciple through thick and thin; and tells you that the will of the
contracting parties is the only circumstance that makes treaties
obligatory. Another tells you that I have grossly misrepresented
Mr. Paine, and that the national omnipotence which he estab
lishes relates only to the internal concerns of the community. He
agrees, however, that the will of the majority must be taken for
the will of the whole nation, and that with respect to the forma
tion of a government, a majority have a right to do what they
please. So that it is no longer the "rights of men," but the rights
of the majority which alone are unalienable.

Upon the question whether a constitution government can
be made alterable otherwise than by the people in their original
character, I have defended the Constitutions of the United States
against the principle of Mr. Paine, though in the republication
of the paper in several of the southern papers, the passage which
supports my opinion by the authority of the Constitution, is
omitted.

Upon the article of representation, I have contended that the
French representation is no representation of the people at all.
Is there a man in the United States who would recommend it as a
model to us ? I have contended that our representation of the
people is infinitely superior both to the French and the English ;
and this is said to be an abominable heresy.

Upon the subject of monopolies, of game laws, and of exclusions
from the legislature, I have defended the principles adopted by our
own constitutions, and not the abuses of the English Government.
Upon that of war and peace I have done the same, and wherein Mr.
Paine's observations have appeared to be founded upon any other

no THE WRITINGS OF [1792

foundation than truth, I have endeavored to show their fallacy.
But a defence of monarchy or aristocracy was no more in my inten
tion, than the defence of the Salic Law of descents was to that of
Mr. Paine.

I shall now conclude these papers with requesting that those
only who read them would judge upon their principles ; and
I am well persuaded, that the candour of the public will not take
misrepresentation for reason, nor invective for argument.1

TO THOMAS BOYLSTON ADAMS

BOSTON, February ist, 1792.

MY DEAR BROTHER, — I have been for more than three
weeks indebted to you for two very agreeable letters,
which Mr. Otis brought from you. They would not have
remained so long unanswered but for a variety of circum
stances which have concurred to engross all my time during
that period. It is possible that you may have observed in
the Centinel about a month since, that a Committee of 21
inhabitants of this Town was chosen in town-meeting,2 to
report to the town what measures it might be proper to
take in order to reform the present state of the police of
the town ; and you may have noticed that my name was

1 "Publicola in attempting to build up his baneful system of MONARCHY and
ARISTOCRACY, has in a most wanton manner, attempted to raise his superstructure,
on the ruins both of the REPUTATION and LIBERTIES of the PEOPLE. But however
this writer may plead in behalf of a KING and NOBILITY, yet the PEOPLE of those
countries, it is not doubted, will feel their weight and importance, and e'er long
exercise their natural rights, to obtain their influence in the scale of government.

"I believe it may with truth be said, that sentiments so derogatory to the
dignity of the people have not been propagated in this country, since the days of
Hutchinson ; and from the illiberality of the observations, and their horrid conse
quences, I dare not harbor a thought, that any American, much more a RULER of
AMERICA, is so lost to every sentiment of propriety and decency, as to be the author
of them." "A Republican," in the Independent Chronicle, July 21, 1791.

2 Columbian Centinel, January 14, 1792. The meeting was held on the I3th.

i792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS in

among those of several of the most respectable characters
in this town upon that Committee ; if you read the Cen-
tinels in course as they arrive, you must have seen that this
Committee reported a certain plan, which after being de
bated in town meeting for three days was finally rejected
by the votes of 700 men against more than 500 who were
in favor of its adoption.1 If you have noticed all these
circumstances, it is probable you may feel some degree of
curiosity to know something further upon the subject:
You will perhaps wish to be informed what it is, that has
thus agitated the whole town of Boston these five or six
weeks, how it happened that I was placed upon this same
Committee, and why the report was rejected. I will tell
you, at the risque of fatiguing you with a tedious narration,
which you may throw aside if it should become intolerable.
The Government of this town, in its corporate capacity,
like that of all the other towns in this Commonwealth, is a
pure democracy; all the affairs of the town are transacted
by the inhabitants in town meeting assembled, or by com
mittees appointed by them ; excepting certain powers
which are vested in the Select-men, and which are very
immaterial. The by-laws of the corporation are supposed
to be enacted by the whole body of the people, and to be
put in force by trials before Justices of the Peace. In con
sequence of this system, the fact is, that no by-laws are
enforced at all, and the inhabitants arc subjected to various
inconveniences, for the want of some internal regulation.
Several attempts have been heretofore made to introduce
a reformation, and to induce the inhabitants to request for
a city charter. Those attempts have always been in
effectual, and the inconveniences have continued. About
six weeks since, a town meeting was called, where after a

1 At the meeting on January 26. The vote was 701 against 517.

ii2 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

debate upon the subject, in which the objects to be reformed
were fully laid open and explained, the Committee, which I
have already mentioned, were chosen. It was a subject
upon which I felt altogether uninterested, having been so
short a time an inhabitant of the town, and suffering per
sonally very little from the inconveniences which had occa
sioned the complaints from whence that town-meeting
resulted. I happened however quite accidentally to be
present at the meeting and was nominated by Dr. Jarvis,1
to be a member of the Committee, and was accordingly
chosen. He was indeed the last man in this town from
whom I should have expected such a nomination, and I
cannot very readily account for his motives. Dr. Welsh
asked him what his object was; and he answered, "that
this country was under great obligations to my father,
and he thought it very proper that some notice should be
taken of his son ; that he observed I generally attended
the town-meetings, and appeared to interest myself in the
affairs of the town ; that I was a sensible young man "
(excuse the vanity of the relation) "and he wished to hear
my sentiments upon this subject." I mention these cir
cumstances because it will, I believe, be somewhat surpris
ing to your father, as it was to myself, that the first public
notice ever shown me by the town of Boston should
proceed from the nomination of Dr. Jarvis. I may now pro
ceed to the transaction of the business itself. The Com
mittee met several times, and after discussing the subject
amply and deliberating with great coolness and harmony
agreed upon the plan which was proposed, and which you
have perhaps read. The agreement was unanimous, with
one exception, which was Mr. B. Austin, commonly called
Honestus ; he set his face against the reform from the

1 Dr. Charles Jarvis (1748-1807).

i792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 113

beginning and did not agree to one article of the report.
All the rest, though many of them differing widely as the
poles, in most of their political sentiments, were fully
agreed upon this point. When the report was debated in
town-meeting Austin opposed it with the utmost degree of
vehemence and absurdity. "It was to destroy the liberties
of the people ; it was a resignation of the sovereignty of the
town; it was a link in the chain of aristocratic influence;
it was intended in its operation to throw the whole burden
of taxation upon the poor." In short his speeches were
such a farrago of nonsense and folly that it was hardly
possible to imagine they could have any effect at all. On
the other hand, Sullivan and Jarvis and Otis with several
other gentlemen argued the whole subject over and over
with more popular eloquence than I ever saw exhibited
upon any other occasion ; yet upon the final question, the
result was as I have stated, seven hundred men, who looked
as if they had been collected from all the jails on the con
tinent, with Ben. Austin like another Jack Cade at their
head, outvoted by their numbers all the combined weight
and influence of wealth and abilities and of integrity, of
the whole town. From the whole event I have derived
some instruction, and above all a confirmation of my abhor
rence and contempt of simple democracy as a Government ;
but I took no part in the debate. It was indeed a very
good opportunity, that was offered me, of opening a political
career, especially as I had been put upon the Committee;
but for a variety of reasons I chose at least to postpone to
some future period, my appearance as a speaker in town
meeting; the principal of which was a want of confidence
in myself, which operated most forcibly upon me. I hope,
however, the time will come, when I shall not be so much
oppressed by my diffidence.

ii4 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

But the sequel of the story is no less curious than the rest.
The day after the question was decided, Russell the printer1
demanded of Austin, in the public street, satisfaction, for
a personal insult he had received from him at the town-
meeting ; and upon Austin's refusing to give satisfaction,
Russell treated him with every possible indignity, and
gave him a severe corporeal bruising : upon which Austin
spread abroad that Russell was the mere instrument of
aristocratic revenge, and that he did not act from resentment
for his own injury, but at the instigation of a few rich men,
who were enraged at seeing the success with which he had
advocated the cause of the people. And such was the obse
quious servility of his rabble, that in consequence of this
suggestion, several hundreds of them assembled the same
evening; threatened to pull down Russell's printing office,
and the houses of the aristocrats who wished to enslave the
people, and actually paraded the streets with clubs, and
with violent menaces for two or three hours ; however they
did no real mischief, and the matter seems now to have
blown over pretty generally ; though the partizans on both
sides are still warm and ready to quarrel. I have from the
beginning taken the part of a spectator rather than that
of an actor in the scene, and I think the whole affair has
given me some additional knowledge of human nature.

The present is quite a busy time in our political world;
there are several other subjects upon which I could write
you other letters as long and as tedious as this ; but I must
reserve some of my information for your father, to whom
I am ashamed not to have written this long time. I intend
soon to give him some account of another occurrence,
which has made not a little political agitation in our atmos
phere.

1 Benjamin Russell, publisher of the Columbian Centinel.

i792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 115

I have not much more to say to you respecting myself.
Our Court of Common Pleas have sat again since I wrote
you ; I argued one more cause, and was successful. I
gain my causes, but I get no business : that is at as low an
ebb as ever, but I am tolerably habituated to the lot, and
say, with Ancient Pistol, "si fortuna me tormenta, il sperare
me contenta."

The petition from the North Parish in Braintree is hitherto
successful. The Committee of the General Court before
whom I mentioned to you our having argued the point,
reported in favour of the petitioners : the bill for incor
porating the town of Quincy, has past the Senate and is
now before the House of Representatives. Hichborn l has
been indefatigable in his opposition to the business in every
stage of it, but has not yet been able to defeat us. The
question will not be finally decided till next week.

Mr. Cranch has been in town about a fortnight upon
this affair, and attending the Court of Common Pleas.
He has recovered to all appearance from his sickness, though
he does not look so healthy, or in such spirits, as he was
wont. Our other friends are all well.

Your brother.

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, February 4th, 1792.
MY DEAR SIR :

A variety of circumstances have occurred since you left
this part of the country, which have combined to change
in some measure the state of our parties in the State. You
have probably heard of them from other quarters, and
ought to have heard of them before this from me. I will

'Benjamin Hichborn, representative from Dorchester.

ii6 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

endeavor to retrieve as far as possible my former deficiency,
and to give an account of the present situation of affairs
here, so far as I can collect my information from public
report.

In the month of October a town meeting was held in
this town, wherein it was voted to petition our General
Court for a repeal of the law prohibiting theatrical exhibi
tions. The vote was carried by a large majority; but the
party opposed to the measure was numerous, and a counter-
petition, signed by more than three hundred persons was
presented to the legislature at the same time with the
petition for the repeal. Upon this subject the Lieutenant
Governor, and Dr. Jarvis were upon the opposite sides of
the question, and debated the point so warmly together
that a coolness it is said has ensued between them since
that time. This however is a matter of small moment in
comparison with another event which has produced a more
extraordinary variance.

When the vacancy upon the bench of our Supreme Ju
dicial Court, occasioned by the death of Judge Sargeant,1
was to be filled up, the Governor was sollicited by the friends
of Mr. Dawes (by his father particularly, and perhaps by
himself) to fix upon him for the office ; and whether from
motives of personal friendship, or from pecuniary obliga
tions, or from an idea of the family influence of the man and
a wish to secure it in his own favor, or whatever his reasons
were, he did, without consulting an individual member of
the Council, or any of the Judges of the Supreme Court, or
even his confidential favorite and adviser, Sullivan, nomi
nate Mr. Dawes. The nomination met with universal dis
approbation. The bench, the bar, and the people at large
in every part of the state were dissatisfied. The opinion

1 Nathaniel Peaslee Sargeant (1731-1791).

i792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 117

that Dawes was not a proper man for the office was uni
versal, and the importance of the office itself greatly in
creased the discontent which the nomination occasioned.
That discontent however would have evaporated in a mo
mentary censure of the levity and caprice of the Governor,
as it has upon many former occasions, had not the arrange
ment interfered with the views of private interest, and with
the designs of faction. From the first moment of the nomi
nation, it has met with an avowed and determined opposi
tion from Sullivan and from Judge Dana, who appear even
to have joined in a sort of combination to obstruct the
progress of the appointment. Sullivan has clamored in all
his private conversations, has scribbled anonymously in the
newspapers, has personally urged Mr. Dawes to decline the
appointment, and wrote a long letter to the Governor, per
suading him to withdraw the nomination ; and he has so
decidedly and perseveringly pursued this line of conduct,
that an actual rupture has taken place between him and the
Governor. Nay, I have some reason to conjecture that he
has serious thoughts of advancing as a candidate for the
chair himself in opposition to the present possessor. The
pretext of his violent opposition to Dawes is an ardent zeal
for the dignity of the State. And as an enemy of the
national government his principle is certainly well founded.
The Supreme Court of the State has lost much of the venera
tion of the people by a former appointment.1 It is indeed
surprising how that diminution of confidence has in so short
a period of time since the last change pervaded every part
of the Commonwealth ; and the mortification of the party
is greatly aggravated by the respectability of the national
courts, and the growing attachment of the people to them.
In addition to this it is said that Sullivan expected that the

1 Of Nathan Gushing.

ii8 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

salaries of our judges would, before the vacancy should be
filled up, be raised to £500, in which case he would have
stood ready to take the place himself, and in the opinion
of many people his disappointment in this particular has
exceedingly sharpened his zeal for the dignity of the State.
Of Judge Dana I feel myself always obliged in duty, and
from personal attachment, to speak with respect and
reverence; but in writing to you upon the state of our
politics I must not conceal the opinions which are held
with respect to the motives of his conduct. He has been
equally open and decided against Mr. Dawes with Sullivan,
and equally active in endeavoring to prevent the appoint
ment. His patriotism and public spirit are allowed, and
admitted as being much more forcible principles to actuate
him than Sullivan ; but the peculiar earnestness and even
virulence with which he pursues Dawes at present, has
given occasion to a suggestion that the prospect of failing
to obtain an augmentation of his salary, contributed not a
little to give additional vigor to his patriotic ardor. His
eyes as well as those of Sullivan are supposed to be fixed
upon the chair of State, and possibly he may anticipate an
increase of his own popularity by maintaining a contest
against an unpopular measure. The views of the two men
are so widely different, and indeed so irreconcileable together,
that they cannot long act in concert. But as the object of
keeping Dawes from the bench is a favorite point with both,
they have apparently formed a coalition for this particular
purpose. They have both endeavored to persuade Dawes
to decline ; both used all their influence with the members
of the council, that the nomination might be disapprobated,
but in vain. To decline an appointment which he had
sollicited, and obtained notwithstanding the opposition of
Sullivan's influence with the Governor, would in Dawes's

i792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 119

opinion betray a want of spirit on his part, and after get
ting so good hold of the public loaf, he has no disposition
to relinquish it. The Council, though most of them were
dissatisfied, yet would not by passing a negative upon the
Governor's choice, cast a stigma upon the character of a
man whom they considered as only unequal to the office ;
and as to the Governor himself, in addition to all the motives
which originally operated to determine his election, he is
now induced from obstinacy and resentment to support the
man whom he brought forward. Dawes is therefore ap
pointed and has accepted the appointment. Mr. Dana
however does not yet give the point. At the same time
when Mr. Dawes was nominated, Dana was appointed to
the vacant seat of Chief Justice ; but he has not yet accepted,
and it is said he intends actually to decline accepting it,
and that, for the purpose of bringing in question the legal
ity of Dawes's appointment. Our law says the Supreme
Court shall be held by one Chief Justice and four other
justices, and the inference is that as there were four other
justices at the time whem Mr. Dana was nominated, the
Governor had no right to propose a fifth until the Chief
Justice had declared his acceptance, and taken the oath of
office. Thus the affair now rests, and the result of all the
plots and counterplots will probably appear in the course of
three or four weeks, when the next session of the Supreme
Court is to be held in this town.1

I wrote to my brother by the last post an account of an-

1 " The judges of the Supreme Court, it is said, intend to oust Dawes by Dana's
refusing or delaying to accept the office of Chief Justice. They say there was no
vacancy when Dawes was nominated and appointed, and that all have agreed to
refuse an appeal to the chair if offered them; by which means it is probable the
Governor may be brought to say he had no authority to nominate D[awes], and our
little friend be compelled to recede." Gore to King, February I, 1792. Life and
Correspondence of Rufus King, I. 406.

120 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

other transaction, which has occasioned much altercation in
this town, and has also contributed to widen the difference
in the party. Sullivan and Jarvis strenuously supported
the system that was proposed, and it was opposed violently
by Ben. Austin and by the influence of the Lieutenant
Governor, though he did not publicly appear against it.
The parties were very severe upon each other in the public
town meetings, and are said to be still at variance, but
whether from a sense of necessity for the mutual support of
their own importance, and of their hostile spirit to the na
tional government, they will again come together, or whether
they will continue to separate until a complete disunion and
opposition of pursuit shall ensue, must be left to the deter
mination of time.

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, December 8, 1792.
DEAR SIR :

Our electors met in this town on Wednesday last, and
their votes for President and Vice President were unani
mous. This was generally expected here, and the event is
supposed to have been nearly if not wholly the same in all
the New England states. New York it is imagined was
unanimous for Mr. Clinton as V[ice] President]. Their
electors are chosen by their legislature, where their Governor
has a bare majority, determined to support upon all occasions
his party and his politics. From the other states you will
probably hear before us. And upon the whole I presume
the election will be favorable.1

The Governor has at length prevailed in routing the play-

1 Washington received a unanimous vote of 132. The vote for Vice-President
was thus divided: Adams, 77; Clinton, 50; Jefferson, 4; Burr, I.

i792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 121

ers. On Wednesday the Attorney General J received orders
from him and the Council to prosecute the violators of the
laws immediately. He applied for a warrant to a Justice
of the Peace returnable before two Justices of the quorum.
The sheriff arrested one of the actors 2 behind the scenes in
the course of the play on Wednesday evening, and informed
the company that unless they dispersed immediately he
should arrest all the other performers for the evening. The
company immediately assumed the form of a deliberative
assembly, and debated the question, whether they should
retire or direct the players to proceed and bid defiance to the
sheriff. They concluded that obedience to the law was the
safest party and withdrew, not without many imprecations
against the Governor and the law upon which they were
interrupted. The next morning the examination upon the
warrant was to take place, and the justices3 met at Faneuil
Hall, their own offices being too small and the Court House
occupied by the district court. The Hall was about half
full of spectators who took every opportunity to express
their disapprobation of the proceedings. An objection was
taken by Mr. Otis, counsel for the defendant, to the warrant,
as not being founded upon oath, but only upon an official
complaint of the Attorney General. Whether Sullivan
committed the blunder from ignorance or from inattention,
or from design, is doubtful, but the by-standers enjoyed a
hearty laugh at his expense. He has affected a kind of
neutrality upon this occasion and has avoided giving offence
to cither party by being active on either side. It was sup
posed by many persons that he proceeded thus irregularly
on purpose to give the players an opportunity to escape, and
he himself wishes to have it understood that he acts only in
consequence of express directions from the Governor and

1 James Sullivan. 2 Harper. * Joseph Greenleaf and Samuel Barrett.

122 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

Council. The objection however prevailed, and the player
who had been arrested was discharged amid the loud and
very improper plaudits of the audience. Justice Barrett
with proper spirit reproved their conduct in the Hall, upon
which they were quiet ; but as soon as they got out of the
Hall they closed the business with three huzzas. The play
ers in the meantime had taken the alarm and most of them
are gone ; so that I hope we shall have no more altercations
upon this subject.1 . . .

1 Sullivan gave a history of the law in his communication to the Chronicle:
" In the year 1742, there was an interval of peace, and the country flourished. The
town of Boston was nearly as numerous as it now is; but the Legislature of that
day thought it proper to pass the act under consideration. It was made a temporary
act, because the Crown of England, which had a negative upon all our laws at that
time, would never have consented to a permanent prohibition of that kind. The
act was several times revived before the present constitution; and in the year 1785,
since the existence of the Commonwealth, it was revived and continued in force,
until the year 1797. In the year 1791, the town of Boston, in town-meeting,
instructed their Representatives to procure a repeal of it, if it could be effected :
And a large number of inhabitants subscribed and presented a petition against the
repeal. The whole subject was committed to a committee, who reported against
the repeal. Upon the question, whether the report should be accepted, two of the
Boston members exerted their abilities to procure a repeal; but they could not
obtain a vote in favor of it. ... Perhaps the majority would not have been so
great, if a particular member of foreign education, had not affronted the House, by
ridiculing the habits and manners of the people." When some players came from
the southward, and, in August, 1792, opened a theatre in a newly constructed build
ing in Board Alley, the Grand Jury took no action, nor did any individual suggest
a civil suit, but the Governor [Hancock] mentioned the circumstance in his speech
to the Legislature, and the General Court informed him they expected the law to
be supported. No Justice could be found to convict on the complaint of the At
torney-General, and the players withdrew and closed their theatre. Independent
Chronicle, December 13, 1792.

i792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 123

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, December 16, 1792.
MY DEAR SIR :

I received last evening your favor of the 5th instant.
The votes of the electors in Connecticut and Rhode Island
were unanimous it seems, as well as in this State. I have
not heard any further, but we presume there was the same
unanimity in New Hampshire, which if it be the case will I
think do credit to New England. We expect nothing but
the voice of faction from New York, and we know not enough
what the disposition of the Southern States was.

I gave you in my last some account of the Governor's
having at length succeeded in overthrowing the players ;
but some other circumstances have taken place which at
that time I had not heard. Two days after the arrest of the
player which I mentioned in my last, those who still re
mained had announced another play, but upon being advised
by their own friends to desist, they postponed the perform
ance. At night however a mob of about two hundred people
collected together and went up to the Governor's house to
ask his leave to pull down the play-house. Upon their
approach towards his house, the family were thrown into
great consternation, upon the idea that they were of the
other party, and were coming to insult him. He received,
however, a deputation from them and, as it is said, au
thorised them to proceed upon their riotous design. They
accordingly went and began to destroy the fences round the
house, but were soon dispersed by a Justice of the Peace of
the other party, who went among them with the riot act in
his pocket, ready to read it to them if there had been occa
sion. There has been since then no further attempt to act
more plays, and all the actors are now gone.

i24 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

But the Governor and his instruments were not content
with this victory. They must appeal to the public for
approbation of all his conduct on the occasion and for cen
sure upon that of the opposers to the law ; and Sullivan
with the intrepidity of face peculiar to himself came forward
in last Thursday's paper,1 under the signature of a Friend
to Peace, with the professed design to criminate the breakers
of the statute and to justify the executive authority. You
will probably see in the two next Centinels a couple of pieces
signed Menander in answer to him. I presume he will reply
but I think the discussion must terminate unfavorably to
him. The subject cannot be very interesting to you, but
perhaps an interest in the success of the writer may induce
you to peruse the discussion. I will send you the publica
tion of the Friend to Peace by the next post, and as you will
receive the Centinel regularly you will there find the answers
of Menander.

The unanimity of the electors in this State was by all
accounts a sore mortification to his State majesty. It
angered him to the heart and he vented his peevishness
upon the first objects that presented themselves to him.
It was on the same day with the election that he made his
attack upon the players. He made several difficulties about
signing the warrant upon the treasury for the pay of the
electors, and delayed until a third message from them was
accompanied with an intimation to him that unless he
signed the warrant immediately, they should go to their
homes without receiving their pay at all. This implied
menace had its effect, and he signed the warrant. But he
has affected to be much alarmed for his own safety, and to be
in terror lest a mob should attack his person or his house.
There have been in the public prints several foolish inflamma-

1 The Chronicle.

1792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 125

tory squibs threatening him with tar and feathers or with
breaking his windows ; but they have been treated with
general contempt, and there has not been the slightest
symptom of any popular excesses against him, though he
has endeavored to excite them in support of his whimsical
passion against the theatre.

A French and English newspaper has been commenced
in this town which is to contain among other things a sum
mary account of the French Revolution.1 This account is
very handsomely written by one of the Aristocratic party
now here, having been driven from the Island of St. Domingo
by the triumphant faction there.2 He has aimed at im
partiality as much as he could ; but if you read the narrative
you will find he is very bitter against the Duke of Orleans
to whom he attributes all the calamities of his country.
The first number only has been published, and the editor
has forwarded one of them to you which he will continue
to do. The translation of that part of the paper will be
done by me, and I imagine the paper itself will not be con
tinued long after that publication is finished. The pro
posals are only for six months.

I hope you will not consider me as trifling with my time
for spending it in translating French politics and discussing
theatrical questions. My pen has lain dormant for nearly a
year and a half, and perhaps its revival may with some
propriety be by essays upon subjects not of the first magni
tude. There has been upon my mind a strong sentiment
of delicacy which has kept me silent in the midst of all the

JThc Courier dt rUnirers, the second newspaper in French published at Boston.
The first was the Courier de Boston, published by Nancrede, the instructor in French
at Harvard College, and issued its first number April 23, 1789, but received too
little support for its continuance.

* Probably a M. d'Hauteval, to whom Adams gave a note of introduction to hi»
father, January 5, 1793.

126 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

scurrility of which you have been the object. The charges
which private malice and public faction have employed as
instruments against you, have been so despicable in them
selves, that common sense and common honesty must have
felt some degradation in descending to the refutation of
them. I have thought that where they could have any
possible effect, sober reason and plain truth could not
counteract it, because the minds affected must be too blind
or too wicked to feel the operation of just sentiments.1
The event of the election as far as we know it has corroborated
my opinion. As to the general measures of the federal
government, when I have seen them attacked artfully and
insidiously, as has frequently been the case, I have often
thought of defending them, but as often have concluded
that my assistance could not be necessary and could be but
feeble. The government I supposed needed it not, and as
to my own advancement I could really see nothing in public
life but what it was my object to avoid. I have been really
apprehensive of becoming politically known, before I could
establish a professional reputation. I knew that my inde
pendence and consequently my happiness in life depended

1 In September King had noted that Washington would be rechosen without
opposition; " whether the opponents of Mr. Adams will combine their opposition
I consider as uncertain. Should this be the case Clinton will be their man."
In New York Burr was intriguing, and, as Hamilton believed, in favor of
Clinton and against Adams; but his operations extended to Connecticut, where
Edwards took an interest in him, and to Pennsylvania, where Dallas supported his
ambitions. As between these two aspirants Hamilton preferred Clinton, who had
invariably been an enemy of national principles, to Burr, who was marked by an
absence of all principle. He wrote, however, decidedly in favor of Adams, who
"whatever objections may lie against some of his theoretic opinions, is a firm,
honest, and independent politician." See also his letter to Adams, in Works of
Alexander Hamilton (Lodge), VIII. 290. King believed "for no good that any
support be given to the project of Mr. Adams' degradation." Life and Correspon
dence of Rufus King, I. 426, 430.

1792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 127

upon this, and I have sincerely wished rather to remain in
the shade than to appear as a politician without any char
acter as a lawyer. These sentiments have still great weight
in my mind, and if therefore you should think me squander
ing my attention upon subjects of too trivial import, I hope
you will do me the justice to believe that it is not for want of
judgment in my comparative estimation of things. . . .

MENANDER 1

. . . The submission of the minority to the will of the majority,
he2 supposes to be the essence of a free government ; and the will of
the majority he thinks is only to be collected from the suffrages
of the constitutional legislature: Or if that legislature should
themselves overstep the constitutional bounds, a case which, he
admits, may happen, he points to the remedy provided, by a re
currence to the Supreme Judicial Court. But his principle in the
full latitude to which he extends it is not true; and, if it were,
it does not prove the position in support of which it is advanced.
In a free government the minority never can be under an obligation
to sacrifice their rights to the will of the majority, however ex
pressed. The constitution of this State is expressly paramount
to the laws of the legislature, and every individual in the commu
nity has the same right with the legislature to put his own honest con
struction upon every clause contained in the constitution. Every indi
vidual ought to regulate his conduct upon such occasions by his own
construction, and if that construction militates with that of the legis
lature, he has an indisputable right to violate their laws predicated
upon their construction. If this be true the conduct of those citizens
of Boston, who from a cold and deliberate opinion that the law
prohibiting theatrical entertainments is unconstitutional, have
attended the exhibitions in Board-Alley, is not unjustifiable. For
as to the violent measures which the Friend to Peace mentions as
having been resorted to, they have all been on the part of the

1 Columbian Cfntintl, December 19, 1792. "James Sullivan.

128 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

government. That the law was openly violated is true, and
from the nature of the case it could not be otherwise. But if
disobedience was justifiable at all, the publickness of that diso
bedience could not make it unjustifiable. So far have the friends
to the theatre been from deserving the charge of resorting to
violent measures, that they even avoided resistance against
the violent measures which were adopted against them, and by
an example of moderation very honorable to them, preferred to
make the sacrifice of their pleasures, and rather than contend with
the strength of that law, the justice of which they could not acknowl
edge.

But the Friend to Peace mentions to them another remedy, by
recommending a trial before the Supreme Judicial Court. And
is this recommendation made in order to prove their conduct
unjustifiable in violating the law ? Does it not rather prove the
absurdity of his own censures upon the public manner in which the
law has been violated ? At one moment he cries out "Where are
the champions for the unconstitutionality of the law?" And
at another he charges them with resorting to violent measures,
merely because they come forward too boldly, and challenge its
penalties by an open violation. He acknowledges that the only
determination of the constitutional question must be, by a Jury
under the direction of the Judges, and yet he denominates violent
measures the action without which that determination cannot be
had. The proposal that any individual who has broken the law
should consent to have an information filed against him, is some
what singular. A writer who talks so much about free govern
ments, methinks should have been more cautious in proposing
such an expedient to men who complain of a deprivation off con
stitutional rights. In order to prove that they have acted unjustifi
ably by the breach of a law, he tells them they ought to assume to
themselves the duties of the Attorney General, to accuse them
selves ; that they ought to consent to a mode of proceeding which
in his own opinion is dangerous in any government, when that
mode of proceeding is pursued directly against themselves. The

i792] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 129

friends of the Drama, Sir, are under no obligation, civil, political
or moral, to court the animadversion of the law. When Mr.
Hampden in the time of Charles the first, refused to pay the ship
money, he did not go to the star chamber, and complain of his own
refusals. A tax of twenty shillings was assessed upon him, which
he held to be illegal. The twelve Judges of England had already
delivered their opinions that the tax was legal. Mr. Hampden
refused to pay it. His violation of what the Judges had declared
to be law was open and public, but he did not solicit the prosecu
tion which he sustained. The cases appear to me to be nearly
parallel. The friends of the theatre in Boston have publicly
contravened an act of the legislature, which they do not consider
as the law of the land ; they have not eluded the regular and con
stitutional discussion of the point; they have not betrayed a
consciousness of doing wrong, by shrouding themselves in secrecy;
they have not fled from the vengeance of the government which they
have provoked ; they have not shrunk from beneath the gigantic
arm, which has been raised in "attitude to smite" against them;
but an invitation to become necessary to a prosecution against
themselves; a request that they would call the thunders of the
government down upon their own heads, may excite their derision,
but will not probably influence their conduct.

The observation relative to the dangerous tendency of an
open disregard to established laws is just, but in its application
to the present subject, it begs the question in dispute, for no obe
dience is due to an unconstitutional act of the legislature. And
this is known full well to the chief magistrate, whose champion
the Friend to Peace professes to be. For if sophistry itself can
ever pick a constitutional question from a law of the United States,
he seems disposed to be not merely public, but ostentatious in
professing disobedience. As to the cases put by way of illustra
tion, of the people of Medford undertaking to work on Sunday ;
I confess I cannot see its connection with this subject; and I
do the justice to the logical talents of the Friend to Peace to
believe, that it was introduced rather for the sake of glancing at

130 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

the excise on still-heads, than to give any additional weight to his
argument.

I flatter myself I have now shown that the conduct of the
opposers to the prohibitory theatrical statute has not been proved
to be unjustifiable by the Friend to Peace. On the contrary, I
now Contend that their complete justification will flow from his
own principles. Considering the law as unconstitutional, they
have sought as far as could reasonably be required of them, all
the remedies which their censurer points out to them. They have
not been guilty of that wanton, unnecessary violation of the estab
lished law, which he charges them with. They did not act in oppo
sition to the statute, until they had sought in vain for relief from
the Legislature nor until the Legislature added to the mortification
of rejecting their request by the insulting silence of a triumphant
majority. When they found that a sullen denial of satisfaction
was the only answer which the Legislature vouchsafed to make to
their complaint, they proceeded to the other remedy mentioned
by the Friend to Peace. They acted in open opposition to the
statute, and if they had not Hibernian blood enough in their
veins to turn States witnesses against themselves, they had enough
of American spirit about them not to avoid by any subterfuge a
legal investigation. The question of constitutionality they have
always been ready to meet, and in the meantime, they have
regulated their conduct by their own sincere opinion upon the
subject.1 . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, December 22, 1792.
MY DEAR SIR :

If we are truly informed the election of President and
Vice-President is decided by the votes of which we have

1 A second communication, examining the conduct of the executive, was printed
in the Columbian Centinel, December 22, 1792, and a third, making a correction
in statement, but no change in position, in the same journal, December 22, 1792.

I7Q2] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 131

already heard, and which extend no further than Maryland.
From the indication of the disposition of the people I feel
much personal gratification, as it shows that the aspersions
of private malice and of public faction have had no success
in shaking the reverence and affection which your country
men entertained for you, and which you have so richly
deserved of them ; but I feel still more satisfaction on their
account, because it shows their attachment to the govern
ment itself, and that the artifices of unprincipled ambition
or of misguided jealousy have not led them astray from the
pursuit of their own essential interests. Great pains it
seems were taken to unite the opposition in favor of Gov
ernor Clinton, and canvassing letters were received by the
electors in Rhode Island and Connecticut from New York,
and even from Virginia. But in both the former States the
electors and the people, instead of being influenced by those
letters, resented very much such an insidious attack upon
the liberty of their suffrages, and their unanimous votes
may convince the abettors of anarchy and confusion that
at this time they have "overleapt themselves and fallen on
the other side." 1

The subject of theatrical amusements still continues a
gentle agitation in this town. We had yesterday a town
meeting to consider the propriety of remonstrating to the
Legislature against the prohibitory statute. You will see
the remonstrance, together with sundry resolutions and an
address to be presented upon the occasion to the Governor,
in this day's Centinel, and you will find my name there with
twenty others as a Committee to present the address, etc.
The town meeting was more numerous than usual, and yet
the proceedings were next to unanimous, because all the

1 The votes of New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia were unani
mous for Clinton.

132 THE WRITINGS OF [1792

other party absented themselves, knowing very well that
they would be out-voted, if they made their appearance.
Our friend Otis, you will see, is also upon the Commit
tee, though he was decided in his opposition to the last
year's petition for the repeal. He was present at this meet
ing, and after being chosen upon the Committee, he made a
short speech in which he said that he always felt happy in
endeavoring to promote the wishes of his fellow citizens,
and very cheerfully submitted to the decision of the majority,
even when it was contrary to his own opinion ; that he would
therefore with pleasure co-operate in any measures to ex
press the sentiments of the town and to obtain the object
which they desired. But in order to avoid an appearance
of inconsistency he thought it necessary to declare, that he
had seen no reason to alter a single sentiment of the opinion
which he had formerly expressed, and he still continued to
think that a theatre would do no good to the town. It was
a little singular that Sullivan was nominated four or five
times to be a member of this same Committee and upon
being put was negatived by a majority of votes against him.
From several circumstances I have reason to suspect that
his nomination came from Jarvis, whose policy upon this
occasion seems to be to press into the service all the men of
abilities or influence who have been in the opposition. But
with respect to Sullivan the object failed ; for so long as his
being on the other side afforded the voters a decent pretext
for voting against him, a majority was found who chose to
gratify their inclination to vote against him at any rate.
So soon as the number of the Committee was completed,
Jarvis made a speech, in which he said he hoped it would be
universally understood that the negative passed upon Mr.
Sullivan was not from any intended disrespect to him, but
only because it was conceived his official situation made it

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 133

improper to require his aid to obtain a repeal of the law.
This smoothed the matter over well enough, but several
persons told me they voted against him, because they were
glad of an opportunity to insult a man whom they hated
and despised. Here then the matter rests, and I am ap
prehensive you will think me tedious in giving so minute a
detail of it. ...

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, February 10, 1793.
MY DEAR SIR :

As I was going to meeting this afternoon a gentleman
met me in the street, and desired me to fill him a writ im
mediately, which he intends to have served as early as pos
sible in the morning. I accordingly did it, and it is now too
late to attend the afternoon service. I think I cannot em
ploy the leisure time thus thrown on my hands better than
in giving you an account of the commercial catastrophe now
taking place in this town, which occasioned the singular
application to me that I have just mentioned. The bubble
of banking is breaking, and I am very apprehensive that it
will prove as distressing to this town as that of stock-jobbing
was about twelve months since at New York. Seven or
eight failures of considerable consequence have happened
within these three days, and many more arc inevitable I
think in the course of the ensuing week. The pernicious
practice of mutual indorsements upon each other's notes has
been carried as now appears to an extravagant length, and
is now found to have involved not only the principals, who
have been converting their loans from the bank into a regular
trading stock, but many others who have undertaken to be
their security. The stagnation of trade produced in the fall
of the year by the smallpox, and very much increased by a

134 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

remarkably open winter, which has not admitted of the
usual facility of communication with the country upon the
snow, have undoubtedly accelerated this calamity, which,
however, would have been the more oppressive the longer
it would have been deferred.

These misfortunes will undoubtedly give a degree of
activity to my particular profession which has not for several
years been allotted to it. But I shall personally derive but
very little immediate benefit from it. I see no prospect of
its adding much to my business at present, and if it should,
there is no satisfaction in thriving by the misery of others.

I received last evening your favor with a quotation from
the Echo, which has been read here, as well as the Hartford
newscarrier's wit, with pleasure by those who are fond of
laughing at the follies of our great man.1 The situation of
our affairs is such, and the passions and rivalries of our
most conspicuous characters assume an aspect so alarming,
that we have indeed much to apprehend for the fate of the
country. It is a subject upon which my mind does not
dwell with pleasure, and I am the more desirous to keep
myself altogether unconnected with political topics, because
my sentiments in general I find are as unpopular as my con
duct relative to the town police or to the theatrical questions.
I have no predilection for unpopularity as such, but I hold
it much preferable to the popularity of a day, which perishes
with the transient topic upon which it is grounded ; and
therefore I persisted in refusing to appear at the anarchical
dinner which was denominated a civic feast, though I was
urged strongly by several of my friends to become a sub
scriber upon principles of expediency. Those friends dis
liked the whole affair quite as much as I did, but thought
it was necessary to comply with the folly of the day. Upon

1 Hancock.

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 135

the whole however it appears to me that the celebration
of that day has had rather an advantageous than an in
jurious effect. The specimens of equality exhibited in the
course of it did not suit the palates of many who had joined
in the huzzas. The Governor thought it proper to be sick
and not attend, and I believe has ventured to express his
disapprobation of the proceedings in several particulars.
We have Jacobins enough, but in this instance they overshot
themselves, and shewed their teeth and claws so injudi
ciously, as to guard even the weaker members of the com
munity against them.1 . . .

MARCELLUS 2
I3

At a period, when all the European powers with whom we have
any considerable commercial intercourse, are involved in war,
it becomes an interesting question to every American, what line
of conduct ought to be pursued by the United States as a nation,
and by their citizens as individuals, in relation to the contending
parties. The individual must follow the dictates of his own dis
cretion, and the path to be pursued by the nation must be pointed
out by the wisdom of the National Legislation : But upon a subject
in which all are so deeply interested, it is the right, and in some
measure the duty of every citizen, to express his opinions with
decency, but with freedom and sincerity.

The solution of the question as it respects the country, involves

1 This "civic feast" is described in the Columbian Centinel, January 26, 30; and
Massachusetts Mercury, January 26, 1793. It is sketched in McMaster, History
oj 'the People of the United States, II. 91.

2 Genet, the first minister from the French Republic to the United States,
landed at Charleston, South Carolina, April 8. On April 22 the proclamation of
neutrality was issued in Philadelphia. Adams was one of the earliest to discuss
the political situation, for Hamilton ("Pacificus") printed his first paper June 29.

1 Columbian Centinel, April 24, 1793.

i36 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

in itself an answer to that which relates to individuals. There
have indeed been certain suggestions in the public papers, and in
private circles something similar has been heard, of an intention
among some of our fellow citizens to arm privateers, and commit
depredations upon the commerce of one of the parties under
the authority of another. It is to be hoped that this violation of
the laws of nature and nations, this buccaneering plan of piratical
plunder, may not in any instance be carried beyond the airy regions
of speculation, and may never acquire the consistency of practical
execution. If the natural obligations of justice are so feeble
among us, that avarice cannot be restrained from robbery, but
by the provisions of positive law, if the statute book is to be our
only rule of morality to regulate the observance of our duties
towards our fellow creatures, let those whose ideas of equality are
so very subservient to their private interests, consult the treaties
between the United States and the several powers now at war,
which by the constitution of the United States, are declared to be
"the supreme law of the land," and in the 2ist, the igth and
the 2Oth articles of the several treaties of commerce with France,
Holland and Prussia, they will find, that by taking letters of
marque or arming privateers with commissions under either
of the powers against either of the others, they would subject
themselves to the punishment of pirates. There can be no doubt
but that a similar act of hostility against any subject of the king
of Great Britain, would be a direct violation of the yth article
of the treaty of peace. If we were not bound by any treaty
whatever, with either of the nations, the natural obligation of
neutrality would operate upon us individually, unless the nation
should take a decisive part in favor of one of the parties. Every
citizen would be legally responsible for all the property which he
might seize with violence under a commission to which he could
not be entitled, and if he should preserve himself from the punish
ment of piracy, he would be liable to make entire satisfaction for
all the damage he might occasion, and to restore his ill-acquired
plunder.

1793) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 137

It is indeed of material importance to the commercial interest
of this country, that our merchants should show a peculiar degree
of circumspection in their conduct, because the country becomes at
a season so critical as this, in some measure responsible for them.
In the just and honorable pursuit of their legitimate interest, it is
the duty of the nation to support them with all its force and all
its authority. In time of war, the subjects of all belligerent powers
are frequently disposed to violate the rights of neutral nations.
The master and the crew of a privateer, fitted out and cruising
for the sole purpose of seizing upon defenceless wealth, and stimu
lated by the prospect of a valuable spoil, often feel the full force
of disappointed rapaciousness, when after a long chase they
discover that the ship, upon the plunder of whose cargo they had
already feasted their imaginations, is rescued from their violence
by the protection of a neutral flag. They are not apt to be nice
in their distinctions of morality. Their disappointed passions
often seek a vent against the unarmed opulence which eludes
their grasps, and they are frequently guilty of insolence, and
sometimes of oppression towards those who are not in a condition
to resent their inju tice. In such case the individuals of the
neutral nation, who suffer in consequence of such lawless pro
ceedings, have no remedy but to call upon the sovereign of their
own country to support them in their demand for satisfaction :
Should any complaints arising from causes like this become a
subject of negotiation, between the United States and either of
the contending parties, it behoves us all, as we value our interests,
or our reputation, that no occasion to retort a complaint that
the neutrality was first violated on our part, should be given. In
order to obtain justice, for any citizen who may suffer by the in
iquity of a foreigner, we must disavow in the most decisive manner,
all acts of iniquity committed by our own citizens, and our govern
ment can never have an expectation of gaining a compensation
for the injured individual, unless they can compel the injuring
individual to make compensation in his turn.

To expatiate upon the natural injustice and wickedness of

138 THE WRITINGS OF [i793

privateering under a foreign commission against a nation at peace
with us, would be as idle as an attempt "to add a perfume to the
violet." The practise of privateering, even in its most excusable
form, between nations formally at war, has been condemned by
the most amiable and virtuous moralists. In the treaty between
the United States and the King of Prussia, it is provided that in
case war should arise between the contracting parties, "All mer
chant and trading vessels employed in exchanging the products of
different places, and thereby rendering the necessaries, conven
iences and comforts of human life more easy to be obtained, and
more general, shall be allowed to pass free and unmolested :
and neither of the contracting powers shall grant or issue
any commission to any private armed vessel, empowering
them to take or destroy such trading vessels or interrupt such
commerce/' l This clause in the treaty, which was I believe the
first instance in which two great nations have adopted this system
of benevolence and humanity, has been justly admired and ap
plauded ; it was adopted by the late French National Assembly,
when they declared war against the Emperor of Germany, and
the real friends of mankind must regret that the policy is abandoned
at this time, when the war extends to all the great commercial
nations of Europe. For, if as the poet, with more than poetical
truth, has said, "War is murder," the plunder of private property,
the pillage of all the regular rewards of honest industry and
laudable enterprise, upon the mere pretence of a national contest,
to the eye of reason and justice, can appear in no other light than
that of highway robbery. If, however, some apology for the
practice is to be derived from the uncontrollable laws of necessity,
or from the iniquitous law of war, certainly there can be no possible
excuse for those who incur the guilt without being able to plead
the palliation ; for those who by violating the rights of nations in
order to obtain a licence for rapine, manifestly show, that it is
only the lash of the executioner that binds them to the observance
of their civil and political dut'es.

lArt. XXIII, treaty of 1785.

1793] JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS 139

II1

Non nostrum, tantas componere lites.

Having attempted in a late paper to show that a rigid adherence
to the system of Neutrality between the European nations now at
war, is equally the dictate of justice and of policy, to the individual
citizens of the United States, while the Nation remains neutral,
the question recurs, what is the line of conduct prescribed to the
nation itself, at this delicate juncture, by those immutable laws of
justice and equity, which are equally obligatory to sovereigns and
to subjects, to republics and to kings. I shall not make any
consideration of general policy a separate subject of inquiry,
because I hold it to be one of the most undeniable principles of
government, that the truest policy of a nation consists in the per
formance of its duties. The rights of nations are nothing more
than an extension of the rights of individuals to the great societies,
into which the different portions of mankind have been combined ;
and they are all mediately or immediately derived from the fun
damental position which the author of Christianity has taught
us as an article of religion, and which the revised declaration of
rights of the National Convention in France have declared, to con
tain the essence of liberty. "Liberty," says the new Declaration of
Rights, "consists in the power of doing whatever is not contrary to the
rights of others ." "Whatsoever," says the Saviour of mankind, "you
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.'"' Let us
therefore be cautious to do nothing contrary to the rights of others,
and we shall continue to enjoy and to deserve the blessings of
freedom. Let us do as we should choose others might do to us, and
we shall deserve the favors of Heaven.

If these are the principles upon which our national conduct is to
be grounded, it will follow, that an impartial and unequivocal
neutrality between the contending parties is prescribed to us as
a duty, unless we are bound by some existing contract or stipu
lation, to make a common cause with one of them.

1 Columbian Cfntinet, May 4, 1793.

140 THE WRITINGS OF [i793

I have already said it : The natural state of all nations, with
respect to one another, is a state of peace — damus petimusque
vicissim : It is what we have a right to expect from them, and
for the same reason it is our duty to observe it towards them. In
addition to this natural obligation, we are bound by express
treaties with France, England, Holland and Prussia, to observe
the laws of peace with the subjects of their different governments,
and we have no right to interfere in their contentions. What
ever may be the current of our sentiments, or of our opinions ;
whatever may be the language suggested by our passions,
or the wishes inspired by our affections, we are not constituted
judges of the respective merits of their cause. From a feeling of
gratitude towards a nation which assisted us in the days of our
own calamity, we may be disposed to throw a veil over their own
errors and crimes, and wish them that success which their frantic
enthusiasm has rendered so improbable. As the descendants of
Englishmen, we may be willing to lose the memory of all the miseries
they inflicted upon us in our just struggle against them, and even
the relics of their resentment, which still refuse the complete ful
filment of the treaty of peace, and we may wish them still to retain
their reputation for successful courage and conduct in war. As
men, we must undoubtedly lament the effusion of human blood,
and the mass of misery and distress which is preparing for the
great part of the civilized world ; but as the citizens of a nation
at a vast distance from the continent of Europe; of a nation
whose happiness consists in a real independence, disconnected
from all European interests and European politics, it is our duty to
remain, the peaceable and silent, though sorrowful spectators of
the sanguinary scene.

With the reasons for neutrality suggested by these considera
tions of natural duty and of positive stipulation, a forcible argu
ment concurs, derived from our interest. In the general conduct
of all the commercial European nations, the advantages which
will be thrown into our hands, and the activity and vigor which
will be given to every branch of our commerce, are too obvious

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 141

to need any discussion. As the natural consequence of war, the
necessities of all the belligerent powers must increase in proportion
as their means of supply will dimmish, and the profits, which
must infallibly flow to us from their wants, can have no other
limitation than the extent of our capacity to provide for them.

With all these inducements to a decided neutrality, let us look
at the other side of the medal, and see what would be the conse
quence of our making ourselves partisans of the contest. First,
we should be engaged in a quarrel, with the laws of nations against
us. It would be a violation of our political duties ; a departure
from the principles of national justice, and an express breach of the
positive stipulations of peace and friendship with the several
belligerent powers, contained in the treaties which I have already
mentioned. An act of partiality in favor of either party would
be an act of perfidy to the other.

I have so full a confidence in the equity and virtue of my coun
trymen, that I should rest the argument on this point, if I had
not perceived that a contrary system of policy is avowed by men
of some influence among us, and openly recommended in some of
the public prints of the day. A system, which professing to arise
from an extraordinary attachment to the cause of Liberty and
Equality, may in reality be traced to the common sources of
private avarice, and private ambition, perhaps at once the cause
and effect of an implicit devotion to France, and an antipathy to
England, exceeding the limits of a national resentment.

To men of this description, arguments derived from the obli
gations of natural justice, or of written contract will be perfectly
nugatory. "The Rights of Man," will be their answer to the one,
and "Liberty and Equality," to the other. I apply, therefore,
to a principle of more efficacious operation in their minds, if their
own interest is in any degree connected with that of their country,
and ask them what would be the inevitable consequence of a war
with all Europe, excepting only the present prevailing power of
France ? The experience of the late war, would perhaps dis
courage an attempt on the part of Great Britain to conquer this

THE WRITINGS OF [1793

Continent, but we have a sea-coast of twelve hundred miles every
where open to invasion, and where is the power to protect it ?
We have a flourishing commerce, expanding to every part of the
globe, and where will it turn when excluded from every market of
the earth ? We depend upon the returns of that commerce for
many necessaries of life, and when those returns shall be cut off,
where shall we look for the supply ? We are in a great measure
destitute of the defensive apparatus of war, and who will provide
us with the arms and ammunition that will be indispensable ? We
feel severely at this moment, the burden of our public debt, and
where are the funds to support us in the dreadful extremity to
which our own madness and iniquity would reduce us ? Not
to mention the infallible destruction of our finances, and the na
tional bankruptcy, which the friends of the system I am combating,
would perhaps welcome as a blessing. Are these, Sir, imaginary
apprehensions, or are they objects of trivial moment ? Our
national existence may depend upon the event of our councils in
the present crisis, and to advise us to engage voluntarily in the
war, is to aim a dagger at the heart of the country.

Ill1

Omnium primum natus tueri public am fidem. Liv.

It has been inquired by citizens anxious for the welfare of the
country, and aware of the distress to which it must inevitably
be reduced by an European war, whether we have not already
pledged our faith so far as to preclude us from any present con
sideration of convenience or inconvenience, and whether we are
not by our own voluntary engagement bound to take the part of
the present government in France, especially in case the West
India islands should be attacked by Great Britain.

By the eleventh article of the Treaty of Alliance with France,
the United States "guaranty to his most Christian Majesty, the
possessions of the crown of France in America." 2 But the course
of human events has either totally absolved us, or at least sus-

1 Columbian Centinel, May n, 1793. 2 Treaty of 1778.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 143

pended the obligation of this clause, and it cannot be made even
a plausible pretext for involving us in the present war. My
reasons for this opinion are,

1. That the guaranty is to his most Christian Majesty, of the
possessions of the crown of France. I ask, who is at this time his
most Christian Majesty ? A part of the French nation, and all
the other powers of Europe will answer, he is the son or the brother
of the late Louis the XVIth. The National Convention, and the
present republic of France will say there is no such man. The
office and all its powers have been extinguished in the blood of the
person with whom your contract was made. If the article binds
us to either of the parties, the question which of the two is entitled
to claim the performance, is now a question to be settled by the
event of a civil war, and neither party can call upon us to decide
it for them.

2. That supposing the revolutions of France are now completed,
and a republic firmly established, it may be doubtful whether they
have not by their change of government, dissolved this clause of
the treaty : I know it is a general principle of the laws of nations,
that the rights and obligations of treaties survive the internal
revolutions of government, and therefore that the republic of
France may be entitled to the benefits of engagements contracted
with the former Monarch. But to this rule there are many
exceptions; the first Constituent Assembly were so fully of this
opinion that they thought the nation absolved from all such
treaties previously made, as might be injurious to their interests,
and the present government have extended the principle much
further, when [as] a justification for opening the Scheldt, contrary to
the positive and express stipulation of many treaties, they have
formally denied the obligation of any compact, which was con
trary to the natural Rights of Men. Upon speculative principles
it may be very questionable how far the sovereign control of a
French Republic, over islands at three thousand miles distance from
them is consistent with such natural rights, and it would be diffi
cult to mark the distinction which should prohibit every act of

144 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

jurisdiction exercised by one nation over a river flowing through
the territories of another, and at the same time allow a supreme
authority over colonies placed by the hand of nature at so wide a
distance from the metropolis. The possessions of the crown of
France, as guaranteed by our Treaty to his most Christian Majesty
appear to me to have formed a part of that Constitution of govern
ment which then existed in France ; they were a part of the mon
archy, and under the new government they can no longer be
considered as possessions, in the same sense in which they were
understood when the United States bound themselves to the
guaranty.

3. Should both of those ground for the opinion I am supporting
be considered as erroneous, and the clause in question be held as
binding us to the French Republic, in the same manner as it
formerly did to the King, it remains to inquire what was intended
by the guaranty, and what are the duties which it has prescribed
to us ? During the administration of the royal government, had
the authority of the sovereign been guided by the maxims of
speculative freedom or of practical tyranny; had he provoked
a rebellion in the islands, by oppressing the planters or by liberat
ing their slaves ; the guaranty in the treaty would not have bound
us to assist him with our blood and treasures, in enforcing an
absurd and unnatural Government against the perpetual resist
ances which it would necessarily provoke. Had the late King of
France, like other kings of whom we read in history, veiling his
insatiate ambition, under some specious pretence of glory, of
dignity or of safety, declared a wanton and unjustifiable war
against any or all of the commercial nations in Europe, and had
his possessions in America been conquered by his enemies in the
course of such a war, he never could have called upon the United
States by virtue of this guaranty, to repair the injuries of his
folly, and to sacrifice themselves in support of his pernicious
projects. It is unnecessary to fatigue the public with the pedantry
of quotations from the writers upon natural and political Law,
but it may be laid down as an universal principle, that no stipu-

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 145

lation contained in a treaty, can ever oblige one nation to adopt
or support the folly or injustice of another. In applying this
principle, it becomes necessary to observe, that the administra
tion of the French government over their colonies, since the first
revolution of 1789 has been such as to keep almost all their islands
in a constant state of rebellion and civil war; by the former of
these calamities the slaves have been united against their masters;
by the latter the masters have been divided against each other.
From the chaotic mass of human passions, a collection of all the
most violent and inflammable elements has been selected and
combined together; the torch of the furies has been applied to the
composition ; and the miserable islanders have been the victims of
the fatal explosion.

To such a state of desperation have these devoted colonies been
reduced, that a formal deputation, as we are informed by the public
papers, have solicited for them the protection of the British
government ; and we are now told that this protection has been
promised; that the King of Great Britain has agreed to take
possession of those colonies and to hold them in trust for his most
Christian Majesty, the power to whom the letter of our guaranty
has promised the assistance of the United States. An arbitrary
and oppressive system of administration compelled us to renounce
the authority of Great Britain, and France assisted us to main
tain our honorable warfare. A similar evil has driven some of
the French colonies to a similar remedy; one of them has even
attempted a Declaration of Independence, and all the others would
doubtless have done the same, were they not profoundly sensible
that the time is not yet come, for the Lion to lie down with the
Lamb, and that the justice of their cause would avail them but
little against the powerful injustice of their oppressors. But
surely there would be something singularly absurd and iniquitous,
to see the United States support the French in a plan of oppressive
administration over their colonies, as a reward for rescuing them
from the oppression of Great Britain. It would be such a total
subversion of all moral and political consistency, such a cove-

i46 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

nant between virtue and vice, such a coalition of liberal free
dom with despotic tyranny, as can scarcely be imagined without a
confusion of ideas, or expressed without an absurdity of language.
4. The last ground upon which I consider this guaranty as
dissolved or at least suspended, is, that by the act of the French
government, it has been rendered impracticable. They have
declared war against all the naval powers of Europe. What the
event of that war will be, it is not given to man to foretell ; but
we cannot take a part with the French Republic, without uniting
all the rest of Europe against us ; which upon every rational cal
culation of probability, would be dooming ourselves to inevitable
ruin and destruction. We are therefore commanded by a law,
which supercedes all others, by that uncontrolable law of nature,
which is paramount to all human legislation, or compact, to remain
at peace, and to content ourselves with wishing that laureled Vic
tory may sit upon the sword of justice, and that smooth success
may always be strewed before the feet of virtuous Freedom.

FROM CHARLES ADAMS

July 29, [1793.]
MY DEAR BROTHER :

I received the copies of your oration l by Mr. Atkinson, for
which I give you my own and the thanks of my friends. Un
willing to trust my own partial judgment upon the performance,
I have endeavored to collect the opinions of my friends here,
who are most remarkable for their taste, and my own ideas have
been justified by the universal applause which has been bestowed
upon your oration. I cannot but admire the prudence which you
have observed in steering so cautiously between the Scylla and
Charybdis of public opinion, and surely it was your duty to offend no
one in a performance of this kind. In a late letter you observe that

1 Published with the title: An/Oration, /pronounced/July 4th, 1793, /at the/
Request of the Inhabitants/of the/Town of Boston ;/ in Commemoration/of the/
Anniversary of/American Independence. . . . Boston :/ Printed by Benjamin
Edes & Son. M, DCC, xcm.

1793] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 147

some of my friends think me too strenuous upon the wrong side. I
must be thought so, if I deny a single democratic principle. Every
man who now ventures to disapprove of a single measure of the
French, is according to modern language an aristocrat, and I had
rather submit to the imputation, than indiscriminately to approve
of every transaction of that nation. God forbid that I should ever
become the advocate of tyranny, whether exercised by a single or
a many headed monster. How strenuous are the party in Phila
delphia to engage us in a war ! What abuse and reviling con
stantly fills that mint of defamation, the National Gazette! How
determined should be the conduct of the executive ! Surely the
conduct of a foreign minister is reprehensible who talks of appeal
ing to the people from the decision of the first magistrate. If
ever there was a time when firmness was required, it is now. What
do you think of the decision of Judge Peters in your part of the
world ? I would ask one question. Suppose a French ship should
come up to the wharves of New York, and carry away to Phila
delphia twenty or thirty British merchantmen. Could our Court
of Admiralty have jurisdiction of it ? We have had a case similar
to that of the ship William, before our District Court. It was
argued on the part of the libellants last week, and more ingenious
and curious argument I never heard in a court. Messrs. Troup and
Harison showed themselves to the greatest advantage. To be sure
the concluding quotation of Mr. H., applied to Judge Duane, could
not but raise a smile on the countenance of those who know his
character. He is suspected of leaning toward the opinion of
Judge Peters, for whom he has a great veneration ; but I am in
clined to believe that after the argument, and the application of
the verse from Horace, " Justum et tenacem," etc., he will not have
obstinacy enough to decide similarly. We daily expect a French
fleet in this port. I dread the moment. We have many turbulent
people in this city, who would wish to take advantage of such an
event. We have already been witnesses to the commencement of
very tumultuous proceedings. A writer in the Philadelphia
papers, Pacificus, has claimed the attention of the public. I am

148 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

happy to find most men of character accord with the sentiments of
this writer. Who he is, I know not. The Secretary of the Treasury,
amongst us, has the credit of being the author. The pieces would
not disgrace his pen. Entre nous, it seems to me rather surprising
that the Vice President has not been called to Philadelphia. Surely
his council is necessary in the present circumstances of this country.
Pray explain to me. You may have a better opportunity of know
ing the reasons than myself or the multitudes who ask me the
question. My respects and love to all friends.

Yours affectionately,

CHARLES ADAMS.

COLUMBUS
I1

It is indeed a novelty in the diplomatic world, to see the envoy
of a foreign nation assuming a character like this. The French
nation have been justly celebrated for their skill in the cabinet;

1 Columbian Centinel, November 30, 1793. The correspondence between Genet
and the Secretary of State is in American State Papers, Foreign Relations, !•
141-148. Genet's despatches to his own government are in Turner, Correspondence
of the French Ministers to the United States, 1791-1797 (American Hist. Associa
tion Report, 1903).

" Washington was indeed under obligations to him [J. Q. A.], for turning the tide
of sentiment against Genet, and he was sensible of it and grateful for it. The
enthusiasm for Genet and France and the French Revolution was, at this time,
almost universal throughout the United States, but in Pennsylvania, and especially
in Philadelphia, the rage was irresistible. ... J. Q. Adams' writings first turned
this tide ; and the yellow fever completed the salvation of Washington. . . . Not
all Washington's ministers, Hamilton and Pickering included, could have written
those papers, which were so fatal to Genet. Washington saw it, and felt his obli
gations. He took great pains to find out their author. The first notice I had of
his design to appoint my son to a mission abroad, was from his Secretary of State
Randolph, who told me he had been ordered to enquire of the members of Congress,
and others, concerning the life and character of J. Q. Adams, and, he was, that day
to report in favor of his appointment." John Adams to William Cunningham, Jr.,
October 13, 1808. Cunningham Correspondence, 35-37.

17931 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 149

they have produced many statesmen, whose talents have marked
them out as models for the ministers of all other nations ; but this
was an expedient which never occurred to the imagination of any
of them. The glory of the discovery was reserved for Genet alone,
and the future d'Ossat's, d'Avaux's, d'Estrade's, and Torcy's of
his country, may look back with reverence to him as the original
inventor of the science of typographical negotiation.

In a country where genuine freedom is enjoyed, it is unquestion
ably the right of every individual citizen, to express without control
his sentiments upon public measures and the conduct of public
men. Because the rulers of freemen, being only the dispositaries
of their power, are accountable to them for the execution of the
trust, and the treasure of public liberty being common property,
every individual is authorised and required to contribute his
assistance for its security. This privilege ought not, however, in
common cases, to be extended to the conduct of foreign ministers.
So long as the agent of a friendly nation confines himself within
the circle of his own rights, however offensive the demands he is
instructed to make may be, the pretensions of his country ought
not to be a subject of personal animadversion upon him. The
Ambassador is amenable to his constituents for the execution of
his trust, and even in an enemy the character should be respected.
But if the Ambassador on his part descends from that station ; if
he publicly damns with one dash of his pen, all the known rules and
customs established in the intercourse of nations, if he openly dis
claims all submission to the authority, and respect for the opinions
of the writers who have been by the consent of all civilized nations,
acknowledged to contain the true principles of national justice and
equity; if he professes loudly a determination to appeal from a
constitutional to an unconstitutional tribunal, in the country
where he resides; if he threatens to negotiate with the people,
without any authority or commission from his own sovereign
for that purpose, if he is constantly pouring forth in the public
prints, a stream of abuse, under the shape of Letters, of Addresses,
of Remonstrances, and Protests, against the very government to

150 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

which he was accredited, he thereby renounces all the privileges
which surrounded his public character, and makes himself ob
noxious to every feather in the wing of wit, and every shaft in the
quiver of satire. . . .

"And I, too, am a scribbler." I, too, as a citizen of the United
States have the right to express my opinion upon the pretensions
of Citizen Genet. Numerous as have been the animadversions
of the public upon his conduct, there are yet some points of view,
in which it has not been sufficiently considered. I have no personal
acquaintance with the man, nor feel any personal resentment or
animosity against him. My sentiments for his country, like those
of every true American, are those of a partial attachment; but
as in my opinion his actions bespeak him the most implacable
and dangerous enemy to the peace and happiness of my country,
I hold it to be a moral and religious duty, to support the opinion
with the reasons upon which it is grounded.

When the Minister from the French Republic declared his
determination to appeal from the decision of the regular and
constituted authority, upon the construction of certain treaties, to
the people of America, the first sentiments which the declaration
excited in the breasts of that people, was the spontaneous emotion
of the heart. They considered it as an insolent outrage offered
to the man, who was deservedly the object of their grateful affec
tion ; as an insult upon the character of their common friend and
benefactor, and they spurned the attempt to degrade their Hero,
with scorn and disdain. "The people," says Junius, "are seldom
mistaken in their opinions, in their sentiments they are never
wrong." When the Americans were rudely called upon to pro
nounce upon the conduct of the patriot, whose disinterested virtues
and superior talents had been employed in their service through
all the vicissitudes of fortune ; whose generous magnanimity had
supported them in the most distressing moments of national

1 Columbian Centinel, December 4, 1793.

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 151

depression ; whose expanded patriotism had participated with
rapture in the most blissful scenes of national exultation ; the
glory of their war, and the ornament of their peace ; when a
beardless foreigner, whose name was scarcely enrolled upon the
catalogue of Liberty; a petulant stripling, whose commission
from a friendly power was his only title to their respect, and
whose only merit was his country, presumed to place himself in
opposition to the father of their country, and to call for their appro
bation to support his claims, they viewed the application as an
indignity offered to themselves, and even before their judgment
had deliberated upon the merits of the case, they rejected the
arrogant pretensions of the foreigner, with pointed indignation.

When they came, however, to consider the transaction indepen
dent of any reference to their own prepossessions and feelings
they immediately perceived, that the earlier decision of their
judgment was perfectly conformable to the dictates of their hearts
and that the voice of reason and justice was in exact unison with
that of their affections. They had delegated to the Congress of
the United States the power to regulate their commercial inter
course with foreign nations. They had delegated to the President,
the power of negotiating with the ministers of foreign power,
and with the concurrence of the Senate, to make treaties with
them. They had specially directed their President in the Consti
tution, which denned his authority and prescribed his duties,
to "take care, that the laws be faithfully executed ;" and, if, in the
course of his administration, a difference of opinion upon the mean
ing of a national compact should arise between him and the agent
of a foreign power, they had not reserved to themselves the right
of judging between them. Nor did they imagine, that they had
thereby imparted to their Chief Magistrate, a power in the smallest
degree arbitrary. For if the construction, upon which his measures
were grounded, should be erroneous, they had provided a judiciary
power, competent to correct his mistakes. If he proceeded upon a
wilful and treacherous misinterpretation, they had secured the
means of removing him from his office by impeachment; but

152 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

in either case, they had retained no appelate jurisdiction to them
selves. It was therefore clearly demonstrated, that the inten
tion of the Minister, was no less hostile to the Constitution,
than insulting to the government of the Union. Nor was the
measure of the Envoy supported by a shadow of right on his part.
A foreign Agent, his official powers were circumscribed within the
limits of his commission ; and his right to negotiate was only
commensurate with his credentials. Where then was the com
mission ; where were the credentials, which authorised him to
treat with the people of America, through any other medium than
that of their government ? He had not, he could not have any at
all, and the impotent menace of the Minister could serve no other
purpose, than to betray the ignorance and heedless rashness of
the man.

The few remaining partizans of the citizen Minister among us
were aware of the inauspicious operation, which this declaration
would have upon the public mind, and struggled with fruitless
endeavor, to extricate him from the net which his own folly had
woven ; they shuffled and equivocated ; they quibbled and denied ;
but their ingenuity could not keep pace with his impetuosity.
No sooner did their toilsome industry raise a feeble rampart in
his defence, than his own violence would immediately batter it
down. Did they venture to dispute the fact ? He was ready
to produce " damning proof" against himself, and with many
self-admiring commendations upon his own republican frankness
and energy, to silence every friendly sceptic, by an avowal of
his guilt. Did they strain every nerve to create a distinction in
his behalf, and explain his intention of appeal, to be merely an
insult upon the person of the Chief Magistrate, and not upon
the government of America? He was sure to disclaim so frail a
discrimination, and to declare that he was incapable of disrespect
to the "Hero of Liberty," but that his threat was pointed at the
government of the Union. It was in vain to search for precedents
of diplomatic impudence, to give a color of authority to his proceed
ings ; worm-eaten records of elder times, the musty prescriptions of

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 153

superannuated wisdom, could afford no measure for the mighty
grasp of his aspiring ambition. The learned sages of national
jurisprudence, whose indefatigable labors had compiled a system
of rules for the conduct of sovereign powers, founded upon the
immutable laws of natural justice, and the immemorial practice of
civilized nations, had too long been rewarded for their exertions,
by the veneration of ages. They had all written in chains, and
could therefore be no guides for him who had been so recently let
loose.

The appeal is therefore made. Addresses to the Republicans
of New York; Letters to the President of the Union; Letters to
Citizen Duplaine, to General Moultrie; Letters to the Secretary of
State; Letters to the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts;
Protests against the revocation of Citizen Duplaine's exequatur,
"and all the weapons of a wordy war," crowd in rapid succession
upon the public prints; as if the judgment of the people, like the
kingdom of Heaven, were to be taken by violence. But though
the Minister "can call spirits from the vasty deep," yet it
is beyond the reach of his magic, to "make them come
when he calls for them." The people hear his ravings, with the
same indifference, that they hear the roaring of the ocean on
the beach. It is the evidence of a tempest at a distance,
which heightens their enjoyment of the serene tranquility of their
own hemisphere. The Ambassador finding this attempt lately to
fail, though bafHed, does not appear to be disconcerted : his original
and inventive genius multiplies with amazing facility the American
Jurisdictions, and in the fury and whirlwind of his passions for
appealing, he appeals not only to the people of America, but to the
Congress of the Union, and to the Legislature of Massachusetts
also. Appeal at any rate he must; and as he has already been
acknowledged to be the first typographical negotiator, he may
with equal propriety be admitted to the claim of the first Minister
of Appeals upon record.

Waiving for the present any observations upon the two last of
these appeals, which are equally unwarrantable with the first;

154 THE WRITINGS OF [i793

and setting aside the constitutional objection to the first, which
has already been the subject of some of the preceding reflections ; I
must now request your indulgence, Mr. Russell, with a few remarks
upon the mode in which the Minister has conducted his appeal to
the people, and upon the wisdom of the constitutional policy, which
has entrusted the exclusive right of political communication with
foreign powers to the government of the Union.

The declaration of the Ambassador, was understood, at the
time, as meaning, that he would raise an insurrection of the
people against the measures of the government. It could not
easily admit of any other construction, because insurrection is
the only method whereby the people can reverse the decisions of
their government. If however any doubt could be entertained of
the meaning conveyed by the expression, the uniform tenor of every
measure adopted by the Minister since that period, serves to
confirm the opinion which was formed at first. The numerous
newspaper publications which have been already mentioned, are so
many addresses to the people of America; else why is the corre
spondence of a foreigner intruded upon the American public ? All
those letters, addressed to particular individuals, that pretended
answer to a complimentary address from the republicans of New
York, that doughty protest against the dismission of citizen
Duplaine, crammed like a loaded blunderbuss, with all the future
vengeance of the French republic, all must be considered as the
mere vehicles of sedition against the government of the Union.
Else why are a few citizens of New York addressed as constituting
the whole American Republic ? And why is an official, though
very irregular communication to the chief magistrate of this
commonwealth, immediately published in the newspapers, by the
authority of the protestor, before anything has been transacted
upon it ? No doubt they are all meant as appeals to the people
of America; appeals to their generosity, appeals to their
gratitude, but above all, appeals to their fears. The peo
ple of America, however, are not easily terrified or cajoled
into measures apparently destructive to their own happiness.

i793] JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS 155

The resentment of the whole nation was not easily to be excited
without a cause, against a government which was daily gaining
upon all their affections by promoting their happiness. Mr.
Genet therefore endeavors to support his failing influence by con
necting himself and his interests with a particular party of Ameri
can citizens, separate from the whole body of the people : a
party professing republican sanctity beyond the rest of their
fellow-citizens, and scarcely endeavoring to disguise sentiments,
hostile to the national government of the country. How far this
connection has proceeded, and whether any regular plan of opera
tions has been concerted between these new associates, cannot
be fully ascertained ; but we have known an American jury, com
pelled by the clamors of a collected multitude, to acquit a prisoner
without the unanimity required by our laws. We have heard of
printed caricatures circulating through Philadelphia, representing
the President of the Union, and a Judge of the Supreme Court,
with guillotine suspended over their heads. We have seen twenty
citizens of Boston, all of them inoffensive, many of them personally
respectable, held up as objects of detestation, to the crew of a
French armed vessel, and posted at the mast ; we have known a
citizen of New York, and a member of their Legislature, threat
ened by an anonymous assassin with inevitable death, for ex
pressing with the freedom of an American, his opinion upon the
proceedings of the Minister ; and we now witness the formation of a
lengthening chain of democratic societies, assuming to themselves
the exercise of privileges, which belong only to the whole people,
and under the semblance of a warmer zeal for the cause of liberty,
than the rest of the people, tacitly preparing to control the oper
ations of the government and dictate laws to the country. Here
tofore, in the most exasperated times of our political dissentions,
upon occasions when the public mind had been raised to the
highest pitch of irritation, the sacred obligations of a jury, have
always been preserved inviolate, and no American ever thought
of giving a bias to their decisions, by the menace of external
violence; as little would an American villain have thought of

156 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

the guillotine as an instrument of punishment. The proscription
of our citizens under the designation of aristocrats was evidently
effected by a combination of foreign habits with domestic malice.
Even the expedient of threatening assassination by anonymous
letters, was I believe unprecedented among us : And as to the
democratic societies, they are so perfectly affiliated to the Parisian
Jacobins, that their origin from a common parent cannot possibly
be mistaken. These symptoms never originated in the healthy
constitution of American freedom ; they are all indications of an
imported distemper, a distemper in comparison with which, if it
should spread over the continent, the pestilence which has so
lately depopulated a sister city, and called for the exertions of all
our tenderest sympathies, was a public blessing.

To divide in order to govern, has been one of the favorite
maxims of political villany, ever since the relative stations of
tyrant and slave have been the fashion of the world. Every
public measure of the French Minister, since the profession of
his resolution to appeal, may be traced to the policy of arming one
part of America against the other. His intended application to
Congress to pass his official conduct under their examination
militates against all the principles which he has professed as much
as against the American constitution ; but he expects it will furnish
him with an opportunity to "place under the inspection of every
member, his instructions, his correspondence, his conferences," and
if the whole body, in imitation of their constituents should turn
their ear from the voice of the charmer, some individuals may per
haps be found among them, who will listen with complacency.
If he cannot corrupt the sacred fountain of legislation, he hopes at
least to poison some of the streams which flow from it. If he can
not make the Congress itself subservient to his factious purposes, he
expects at least to inflame the divisions, which have naturally
arisen from the collision of opinions and interests in an assembly
of freemen. By dividing the parts, he hopes to control the whole.

The same disposition is discovered in his application to the
commander in chief of the Commonwealth, and in his demand that

1793] JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS 157

the Legislature of Massachusetts should suspend their legislative
functions to sit as a court of judication upon the official conduct
of Duplaine. He could not imagine that our general court had
forgotten the interdiction pronounced by the constitution of the
state, against the exercise on their part of any judicial powers,
other than those which are necessarily involved in the execution of
their legislative duties : — But the nice and delicate interstructure
of our general and particular governments had not escaped his
penetration. He saw two mighty powers participating in large
portions of the American sovereignty. He perceived that although
they had been skillfully contrived to co-operate in conducting
the affairs of the people, yet that the several proportions of the
public authority had not been distributed between them with such
perfect accuracy, as to leave their respective rights in every in
stance unquestionable. Had not his acquaintance with the
operations of the human heart informed him of the natural
tendency which two separate and concurrent powers must have
to mutual hostility, a recent occurrence which has appeared since
his arrival in America, might have taught him that when "two
authorities are up; neither supreme; confusion may be most easily
introduced into the gap, to take the one by the other" From a com
parative view of all these transactions, it appears therefore clear,
as the noon-day beam, that the intention of the Ambassador has
been to lay hold of every prejudice, to fasten upon every passion,
which could be raised in opposition to the government, and to
weaken the force of United America, by placing its component
parts in hostile array against each other.

And now, Sir, do not the consequences of this foreign usurpation
force themselves with irresistible conviction upon the heart of
every American, who feels interested in the independence of his
country ? Among the nations of antiquity, the Athenians were
equally distinguished for the freedom of their government, the
mildness of their laws, the sagaciousness of their understanding,
and the urbanity of their manners. Their Constitution was
purely democratic, and their penal laws were few ; but the bare

i$8 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

appearance of a stranger in the assemblies of the people, they
made punishable with death, from a deep and well-grounded
conviction, that of all the dangers which encompass the liberties
of a republican State, the intrusion of a foreign influence into
the administration of their affairs, is the most alarming, and
requires the opposition of the severest caution. The American
Constitution was framed upon the same principles, and provides
with equal vigilance, though in a different form, against the same
evil. It has entrusted with punctilious nicety all the political
intercourse of the country, with other nations, to the several
departments of the national government. It does not permit
any of the States upon any terms whatever, to enter into a treaty,
alliance, or confederation ; nor without the consent of Congress
so much as to enter into any agreement or compact with a foreign
power. And if the wisdom of this provision needed any proof in
addition to the whole tenor of human history, the train of events
which is the subject of these remarks would support it, with
"confirmation strong as proof of holy writ"

In a state of civil and political liberty, parties are to the public
body, what the passions are to the individual. And as the passions
are said to be the elements of life, so the animated and vivifying
spirit of party seems to be essential to the existence of genuine
freedom. Like the passions, too, it is a prolifick source of misery,
as well as of enjoyment : Like them it requires a severe and
continual exertion of restraint and regulation, to prevent its
breaking out into excesses destructive to the Constitution. It can
be no subject of lamentation to a rational mind, to perceive the
political differences which arise among our own citizens. Even
the degree of warmth which mingles itself in our civil discussions,
is an inconvenience necessarily connected with the enjoyment of
our most valuable rights ; the candidates for popular favor may
endeavor to further their personal views, by standing forth as
the advocates and champions of the public interest, and diversify
their claims in proportion to the diversity of public opinions ; the
people suffer no detriment from their animosities ; and the general

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 159

welfare is perhaps promoted, by placing the jealousy of one patriot
as a guard over the ambition of another. But here let it rest.
The interference of foreigners upon any pretence whatever, in
the dissensions of fellow-citizens, must be as inevitably fatal to
the liberties of the State, as the admission of strangers to arbitrate
upon the domestic differences of man and wife is destructive to
the happiness of a private family. If the partizans of any par
ticular faction cease to rely upon their own talents and services
to support their influence among their country men, and link
themselves in union with an external power, the principles of self-
defence, the instinct of self-preservation itself, will suggest a
similar connection to their opponents; whichever of the party
nominally prevails, the whole country is really enslaved ; alter
nately the sport of every caprice, that directs the conduct of two
foreign sovereigns, alternately the victim of every base intrigue
which foreign hatred and jealousy may disguise under the mask of
friendship and benevolence.

Is this a condition tolerable to the imagination of American
freemen ? Is this a state for which the country has, with such
glorious exertions, strained at every nerve, and bled at every vein,
in throwing off the shameful fetters of a foreign bondage ? Was
it worthy of the toils which our sages, and our heroes endured ?
Was it worthy of the generous and heroic self-devotion, which
offered the slaughtered thousands of our friends and brethren, as a
willing sacrifice at the holy altar of American Independence, to be
made the miserable bubbles of foreign speculation, to be blown like
feathers to and fro as the varying breath of foreign influence should
be directed : to be bandied about from one nation to another,
subservient to the purposes of their mutual resentments, and
played with as the passive instruments of their interests and
passions ? Perish the American ! whose soul is capable of sub
mitting to such a degrading servitude ! Perish the American,
whose prostituted heart could forsake the genuine purity of our
national worship, and offer at a foreign shrine the tribute of his
slavish adoration !

160 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

It was to eradicate, as far as human skill could effect, a weed so
noxious to our political soil; it was to deprive the honourable spies
from foreign nations of the means of tampering with particular
portions of the American people, that the policy of their national
Constitution confined their agency to the government of the
Union. Without attempting to involve ourselves in the mazes of
ancient history, let us attend only to the occurrences which have
happened within our own recollection. If we inquire what is the
cause which has been within a quarter of a century, fatal to the
Liberties of Sweden, of Geneva, of Holland, and of Poland, the an
swer will be one and the same. It was the association of internal
faction, and external power; it was the interference of other
nations in their domestic divisions ; and if, while all these terrible
examples of national humiliation and misery are staring us in the
face, we behold a foreign Agent among ourselves, violating the
spirit and intention of our Constitution, and pursuing every
measure which can tend to involve us in the same ruin, and add
us to the melancholy catalogue of subjugated freemen ; while we
drop a tear to the memory of their Liberty, let us remain firm and
immoveably faithful to our own ; and remember that the eye of
the basilisk is less to be dreaded, than the designs of such a man.

Ill1

The letter from the Minister of the French Republic to the
Secretary of State, relative to the revocation of DUPLAINE'S exe
quatur, has been a fruitful topic of speculation to the American
public. The mind is scarcely capable of conceiving, nor the
language of expressing, a sentiment of disgust and indignation,
but what has been liberally bestowed upon this singular ebullition
of diplomatic frenzy. Even the most strenuous advocates of our
dependence upon France have at length been compelled to separate
the cause of the country from that of the man, and to abandon the
justification of the representative, while they still affect to dread
the resentment of his constituents. They pretend to think that

1 Columbian Ccntinel, December 7, u, and 14, 1793.

1793] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 161

the government of France will support the extravagance and
violence of the Minister; that they will countenance his excesses
which his warmest American friends dare not attempt even to
extenuate, and that although the forms of his proceeding do
not admit of palliation or excuse; yet the substance of his ob
jections against DUPLAINE'S dismission was without founda
tion, as the President of the United States was not expressly
authorized by the constitution to revoke the exequatur of a French
Vice-Consul.

It is by no means my intention to intrude myself unauthorized,
unthought of, and uncalled for, upon the public, as the champion
or defender of the President's measures. I could have wished it
were possible that an examination of the Ambassador's conduct and
pretensions, might have been made altogether independent of any
reference to the proceedings of our own government. Because
on the one hand it is so easy to attribute sinister motives to a
political writer, that I should have been desirous to avoid any dis
cussion which might be suspected of originating in private purposes ;
and on the other, being totally unconnected with the illustrious
character at the head of the union, and with the government over
which he presides, I can reason on the propriety of their measures
only from what is publicly known, and may possibly contribute
to weaken the effect of their authority, by an attempt to support
it upon the grounds which they perhaps would disclaim. A good
cause is often injured by an unskilful defence, and an unsuccessful
effort always lessens the facility of a practical operation. But in
this instance the refutation of Mr. GENET'S absurdities necessarily
involves a consideration of the question in which they originated ;
and the evidence of his folly cannot be produced without bearing
testimony to the wisdom of his opponents. I must therefore be per
mitted to take an enlarged view of the subject, and in animadvert
ing upon the strange and novel principles advanced by the
Ambassador, to make some cursory observations upon the prin
ciples against which he has declared such relentless war.

In the month of June last, ANTOINE CHARBONET DUPLAINE

162 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

received from the President of the United States an exequatur
recognizing him as Vice-Consul, for the Republic of France, within
the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island,
and declaring him free to exercise and enjoy such functions, powers
and privileges, as are allowed to Vice-Consuls of the French Re
public, by the laws, treaties, and conventions in that case made and
provided.

On the tenth day of October last, the President, by letters
patent under the seal of the United States, did wholly revoke and
annul the above mentioned exequatur, and declared the same to be
absolutely null and void from that day forward.

The reason assigned by the President for this revocation, in
the letters patent, is "that the said DUPLAINE having under color
of his said office committed sundry encroachments and infractions
on the laws of the land, and particularly having caused a vessel
to be rescued with an armed force out of the custody of an officer
of justice, who had arrested the same by process from his court, it
was therefore no longer fit nor consistent with the obedience
due to the laws, that the said DUPLAINE should be permitted
to continue in the exercise and enjoyment of the said functions,
powers, and privileges."

It is this revocation of which Mr. GENET in his letter to the Sec
retary of State, by a well chosen expression, hastens to declare
that he does not acknowledge the validity. The reasons that he
gives for his hasty declaration are, "that the Constitution of the
United States has not given the President the right of exercising
this authority ; and that it can be exerted only by the sovereign of
the agent, or by the one to which he is sent." He therefore demands
of the President, to procure an examination by the Legislature,
representing the sovereign people of Massachusetts, of the conduct of
Citizen DUPLAINE, and modestly recommends to the President's
imitation his own (that is the Minister's) example in demanding
of Congress an examination of his conduct. He insists with the
more confidence upon this step, because a popular and virtuous
Jury, three times threw out the complaint of the Attorney for the

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 163

District of Boston, against Citizen DUPLAINE, who, he says, was
finally acquitted in the most honourable manner.

Here then are blended in a confusion, which can be accounted
for, only from the haste of the Ambassador, three very distinct
subjects for the consideration of the public. The first is the denial
of the President's right to dismiss a Vice-Consul. The second is the
right of examining DUPLAINE'S conduct, attributed to the Legisla
ture of Massachusetts ; and the third is the assertion of the Vice
Consul's innocence, and what is called his acquittal. It would
perhaps be more regularly methodical to begin with the considera
tion of the last point, in which the whole transaction, whence the
contest originated, may be unfolded to the public. But the ques
tions of right are altogether independent of the facts. It is totally
immaterial to the question relative to the authority of the President,
whether DUPLAINE was guilty of infringing the laws of the land
or not. Mr. GENET in fact affirms, that if his subaltern had been
guilty of all that has ever been laid to his charge; nay that if a
Consular Agent has, under colour of his office, committed crimes
as atrocious as the human heart is capable of conceiving, and the
hand of executing; still the President has no authority to revoke
his exequatur, or to refuse recognizing him as any longer entitled
to the enjoyment and execution of his Consular functions. The
examination therefore of the three several points may pursue the
course which arises from the letter itself.

But such is the singular incoherence of the Minister's political
system, that before we can be admitted to the examination of one
principle advanced by him, we are obliged to contend for another,
which at one instant he formally acknowledges ; and the next
moment, still more formally denies. After having read in his
letter to the Secretary of State, an admission that the sovereign,
to whom a minister or Consular Agent is sent, may for good cause
discharge or suspend, or send them away, as a national act of
justice, it might have been expected, that this principle would be
considered as one of those undisputed points, one of those data of
national jurisprudence, upon which in fair argument, a train of

1 64 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

reasoning might be founded, without a previous demonstration of
its truth. What then must be our surprise, when we perceive that
this hair-brain'd Hotspur of an Envoy, had no sooner made one
rational concession, than he repents of it, and sends off post haste,
to Citizen DANNERY, instructing him to protest, and re-protest
against the act of the President, as assuming a power which the
nation itself could not either delegate or possess ?

Since therefore upon his more mature reflection, he has thought
fit to deny the right of the nation itself, it becomes necessary to
follow him through all his mazes, and to consider how far this last
assertion is warrantable.

We are therefore to enquire, whether by the Laws of Nations,
there is in every sovereign and independent state, a power compe
tent to dismiss the agent of a foreign power for encroachment upon,
and infringement of the laws of the land, under colour of executing
the duties of his office ?

The laws of nations, it is well known, are nothing more than
the principles of reciprocal justice and equity, which common
sense and natural reason dictate as having the greatest tendency to
promote the mutual advantage and happiness of all nations in
their intercourse with one another. They derive their obligation
from that fundamental maxim of nature and religion, to do unto
others as we would that they should do unto us. The application
of this universal rule of right gives a solution to every political
question that can arise among nations as well as individuals.
But as this application to every particular transaction between
political societies might occasion perpetual altercation among them,
unless some less comprehensive principles were admitted as dedu-
cible from it, the practice of all civilized nations has been to acknowl
edge these subordinate axioms, because they have heretofore been
acknowledged in similar cases, and thus custom and precedent have
always been admitted as authorities in support of any national
act, which does not evidently militate against the stronger obliga
tions of natural justice.

The opinion of wise, learned, and virtuous men, who have

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 165

made the science of national jurisprudence the study of their
lives, and who have published for the benefit of mankind the result
of their laborious researches, are likewise admitted by the common
consent of nations to have much weight, as evidence of the con
clusions, which in particular cases are to be drawn from the general
principle.

It is readily admitted, that all arguments derived from the two
latter of these sources of national law, are subject to the correc
tion and control of the former, and can have no force otherwise
than as they are conformable to it. That precedent is often
iniquitous, and the opinions of the most ingenious and instructive
writers are sometimes erroneous. They are therefore not to be
implicitly followed as infallible guides, but to be recurred to as
experienced conductors, and consulted as impartial advisers.

When therefore the French Minister "thanks God, that he has
forgotten what GROTIUS, PUFFENDORF and VATTEL have written
upon the laws of nations," he ought to be told, that his forgetfulness
"is not a thing to thank God on." When he affirms that these
writers "were hired jurisprudists, and wrote when they were all
enchained," he asserts what is not true. GROTIUS, the venerable
and successful defender of the Christian Faith; the learned and
strenuous supporter of the freedom of the sea; the firm and
dauntless republican asserter of his country's rights against the
encroachments of princely usurpation, was one of the greatest and
most illustrious of men, that ever adorned and dignified the human
character. PUFFENDORF was indeed the subject of a monarchical
government, but his reputation as a man was such as would have
done credit to the most virtuous Commonwealth of ancient or
modern times ; and his system as a writer pursues the path which
GROTIUS had explored, and is only an improvement upon his
principles. VATTEL himself declares "that he was born in a
country of which liberty was the soul, the treasure and the funda
mental law. That he would not have written if he could not
have followed the light of his conscience. That nothing re
strains his pen, and that he was incapable of prostituting it to

166 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

flattery." To insult the memory and slander the reputation
of men like these, of men whose virtues and genius have deserved
well of mankind, does as little credit to the head as to the heart
of Mr. GENET. It is not the liberal and enlightened spirit of
freedom, but the furious ignorance of the Mahometan barbarian,
who burnt the magnificent library of Alexandria, because the con
centration of all wisdom and all virtue in the Koran rendered
every other boon useless or pernicious.

If however the Minister shall insist upon forgetting all the
memorials of former wisdom ; it is to be hoped that he will permit
the Americans to retain this memory as a companion to their
senses. They have no disposition, I think, to plunge into the same
Lethean stream, and if any of their devotion should be excited
upon the occasion, they will rather pay their tribute of gratitude
to the common parent for what they remember, than for what they
have forgotten; rather for the possession, than for the loss of
their recollection.

From the ground of natural season, upon the principles of
public justice, there can be no doubt, but that some power should
exist in every country, competent to remove the servant of another
sovereign, who makes the duties of his office a cloak for the most
violent infraction of the laws of the land. For if such a power
does not exist, then the lives, the liberty and the property of the
citizen must be perpetually at the mercy of a stranger. This doc
trine is too absurd, even for despotism itself. How intolerable
then must it be in a country which has so cautiously protected
the enjoyment of those blessings against all internal authority ?
The expedient proposed by Mr. GENET of complaining to the
Master of the culprit, and obtaining his recall or dismission, must
in many instances have been a very inadequate remedy for the
evil. In cases of minor offences which do not require a speedy
reparation, and where the removal of the man is to be considered
as a penalty for past, rather than a precaution against future guilt
— this mode of proceeding may be adopted. But if an armed
force is applied to resist the execution of the laws ; if war is levied

1793] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 167

and maintained against the country itself; to talk of an examina
tion by one Legislature, for the purpose of complaining to another,
who is to complain again to a power at three thousand miles
distance, which must twice be traversed before relief can be
obtained from the mischief, what is it but to add insult to injury ?
Even among the nations of Europe, between whom the regular
communication is continual, and where a few days may suffice
to fill the interval between the demand and the answer, this sup
plicatory remedy would frequently be ineffectual. But it must
be less than the shadow of a remedy between France and America,
with an Atlantic ocean rolling between them.

There is another reason why this mendicancy of justice ought
not to be the only means of obtaining it, because it would leave no
alternative between a degrading dependence of the party injured
upon the offender's master for reparation, and the miseries of war.
For suppose the complaint and the demand of removal made, and
suppose the Sovereign of the criminal refuses to recall him, pro
fessing to be doubtful of his guilt, or determining to support
him in it, then the insulted nation must either plunge headlong into
a serious war, or tamely submit to see its authority trampled on
and despised, without relief or satisfaction. Without recurring
to any writer for instruction upon this point, common sense
and common humanity must teach us that the interest of all
nations ought to multiply as far as possible the means of avoiding
war.

The right of doing justice to itself is very distinct from that of
requesting that justice be done, and they are both equally necessary,
inherent and unalienable by a nation as much as the right of
personal liberty in an individual.

But the same principle of reciprocal benefit and utility requires
that this right should be used with caution and reluctance; that
it should not be permitted to interfere with the rights, and as little
as possible with the transient interests of the other nation; that
it should be exerted only on occasions of heinous offences on the
part of the foreign agent, and that the measure be the most lenient and

i68 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

pacific that can be adopted, competent to answer the end of national
justice.

The refusal to acknowledge the offender in the capacity which
has supplied him the means of guilt, is undoubtedly an act of this
description. By depriving him of the power of repeating the crime,
it affords a security against his evil intentions to the nation which
has already been prejudiced by them, and therefore is a com
petent remedy. It violates none of the natural or civil rights
of the man himself, and is therefore entitled to the praise of lenity.
If at the same time, care is taken that the rights and interests of
his constituents suffer no detriment, in consequence of his dis
mission ; the justice of the other party can never consider it as
an act of aggression. The denial of this right therefore cannot
be justified upon any principle of Natural Reason.

In considering the subject, on the footing of national custom,
we shall find numerous instances of public Ministers who have not
only been discharged from the execution of their functions, but
even sent home to their masters, by the sovereign to whom they
had been sent, and not unfrequently with a demand of further
punishment of the offender. The practice is supported by the
unanimous concurrence of opinion among the writers upon national
law. In proof of this, we shall recur not only to the worm-eaten
authors whose authority is disclaimed by Mr. GENET, but to
several others who are equally with them entitled to his contempt,
and the reverence of mankind.1 . . .

They [these quotations] all prove that even a public Minister
may be suspended or discharged from the exercise of his functions,
byway of prevention, and sent home to his master for punishment,
by way of penalty. If then this measure may be adopted against
an Ambassador, the immediate Representative of a Sovereign ;
against a Minister, whose sacred office, whose inviolable sanctity,
whose perfect independence are so strongly dwelt upon, by all
the writers from whom these extracts are made, how much more
forcible is the conclusion that it may be pursued against a mere

1 Here followed examples drawn from Grotius and other writers.

1793] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 169

Consular Agent, whose character by the same laws of nations, and
even by the express stipulation between France and America, is
considered as vested with very few of those extraordinary privileges
and immunities which are allowed to public Ministers.

Now, Sir, all the arguments which are contained in the Protest
against the revocation of DUPLAINE'S exequatur, are founded upon
the pretended supposition that the removal of a foreign Agent
must necessarily be a limitation, obstruction, or abolition of his
master's rights. The object of the argument which you have now
read, is to prove that a foreign Agent may be removed, without
affecting the right of his constituent at all.

The right of the nation itself being established, we are again
brought back to the assertion of Mr. GENET in his letter to the
Secretary of State.

In this letter, as it has been before observed, he acknowledges
the right of the sovereign to discharge, send away, or suspend the
Ministers of foreign nations, or their consulary agents, but denies
that the Constitution of the United States has delegated this
authority to the President.

The Constitution of the United States says that the executive
power shall be vested in the President. That he shall receive
Ambassadors and other public Ministers, and that he shall take
care that the laws be faithfully executed. In committing this trust,
the people of the United States, undoubtedly gave to the office
which they invested with this authority, all the powers which
are essential to its fulfilment; to suppose otherwise would be
absurd in the extreme. The idea of expressly commanding a
man to do a particular act, and at the same instant of prohibiting
all the means, without the use of which that act becomes impossible,
is too ridiculous to require a refutation. When therefore the con
stitution of the United States commands the President of the
Union to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, this
prescription is of itself a warrant, authorising him to do any act
consistent with the laws of the land, which may be necessary to
answer that valuable purpose.

170 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

If these laws are violated by a citizen of the Union, there are
forms of trial, and modes of punishment prescribed by the municipal
laws of the country ; and it is part of the President's duty, by
virtue of the above cited clause, to take care that these be applied
with efficacy. But if the infraction is committed by a foreign
agent, under pretence of executing a foreign commission; then
the offence on the part of the agent is an offence against the
Laws of Nations, as well as against the municipal Law; for the
injury done to the latter, a Consul is subject to the same judicial
trial, and the same penalties as an American citizen. But for
the outrage committed against the Laws of Nations ; for the
violence offered in the consular capacity, the proceedings of the
President, in taking care that the laws be executed, must be
grounded upon the Laws of Nations, and not upon the foundation
of local legislation.

Now by the Law of Nations I have already attempted to prove,
that a foreign agent, whose conduct has been criminal, may be
discharged from the further exercise of his functions ; or sent home
without demand of punishment ; or sent home with such demand ;
or sent home with the requisition that he be delivered up for
punishment ; and the only question that can remain is, whether
by the Laws of Nations, these acts of severity are in every country
properly within the department of the Executive power ?

" In every government, there are three sorts of power : the
Legislative ; the Executive in respect to things dependent on the
Law of Nations ; and the Executive in regard to things that depend
on the civil law." 1

The Executive Power, vested by the Constitution in the Presi
dent of the United States, comprehends both the latter of these
powers ; since it authorises him to receive Ambassadors and other
public Ministers ; and with the concurrence of the Senate, who
are given him as a constitutional council for those purposes, to
send Ambassadors and negotiate Treaties. The dismission of a
foreign Agent for having violated the Laws is clearly in its own

1 Montesquieu, Spirit of Law, XL 6.

i793l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 171

nature an Executive Act. It cannot be necessary to prove this;
no one that has a precise idea of the distinction between
Legislative and Executive functions, can for a moment hesitate
to acknowledge it. If then this act of authority is in its own nature
an Executive Act, the right to perform it must of course be vested
in the officer to whom the Constitution has committed the Execu
tive Power.

The truth of this position cannot be disputed, without denying,
at the same time, the right of the President to deliver the exequatur,
which [it] is contended he cannot revoke. The Consular Conven
tion between the United States and France provides that " the Con
suls and Vice Consuls shall be bound to present their Commissions,
and that there shall be delivered to them without any charges, the ex
equatur necessary for the exercise of their functions." Now there
is no clause in the Constitution, authorising the President to deliver
this exequatur, which by the stipulation in the Convention it is
agreed shall be delivered. The right is not expressly contained in
the authority to receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers;
for Consuls are not included in either of these descriptions by the
Laws of Nations, and they are excluded from them by the Consular
Convention. But the delivery of an exequatur is purely an
Executive Act, and it is therefore properly performed by him, in
whom the Constitution has vested the Executive Power. The
same thing is to be said of its revocation.

I believe the French Minister is not yet prepared to contest the
right of the President to deliver the exequatur. Yet his conduct
hitherto must warn us against any hasty conclusion, that he will
be deterred from a measure of this kind by the absurdity of the
thing. Such are the rules of his logic and of his morality, that a
past acknowledgement on his part is no security against his future
denial of a right or of a fact. If, therefore, the case should prompt
him to deny the President's right to grant an exequatur, we may
be permitted to remind him, that by this denial he must invalidate
the authority which has been and still is ever exercised by all the
French Consuls on the Continent. The exequatur and its revoca-

i;2 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

tion stand upon the same ground, and you cannot destroy the one
without annihilating the other.

If the instrument delivered to the Consuls by the President is
not legalized by the clauses of the Constitution which vest in him
the Executive Power, and direct him to take care that the Laws be
faithfully executed, it is not the exequatur, which the Consular
Convention declares to be necessary, for the exercise of their
functions. If they have not received this necessary exequatur,
all their official proceedings hitherto have been null and void,
and the revocation of an instrument, which is of itself a nullity,
cannot possibly be to them a reasonable cause of complaint.

I am aware that the protest affirms that "the act by which a
government acknowledges the character of foreign Delegates is
not on its part a formal and necessary consent to their political
existence." If the denial of this position rested barely upon a
counter assertion from an officer of the American government,
perhaps we might apply the adage, "Who shall decide when
Doctors disagree?" But as the express letter of the Consular
Convention declares the exequatur necessary for the exercise of
the Consular functions, there is no room for asking any questions
on the subject.

The protest further says, "the Constitution of the United States
has given to the government the right of receiving, not of dis
missing ; for acknowledging, not of denying foreign Agents."
The same idea is contained in the Minister's letter to the Secretary
of State. I have already said, that the President's authority to
deliver the exequatur to a consul is not founded upon the clause
which empowers him to receive Ambassadors. But admit that it
were, does not the right of acknowledging necessarily involve that
of refusing to acknowledge ? Suppose that Mr. GENET, instead
of producing a commission from the Executive Council of the
Republic of France, had brought one, under which his conduct
in this country hitherto would have been natural and consistent,
from the emigrant Princes ; according to his principles, the Presi
dent must have received and acknowledged him in that capacity.

1793) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 173

Suppose that the present government of France should recall Mr.
GENET; and he from his propensity to dispute rights, should
hasten to declare that he did not acknowledge the validity of the
recall, and appeal upon the question to the Executive Council,
who commissioned him, or to the ex-Princes above-mentioned,
and in the meantime insist upon being still received and ac
knowledged as the Minister Plenipotentiary from France:
The President, forsooth, would have a right to receive, but none to
dismiss him ; a right to acknowledge, but none to deny him. The
doctrine would, no doubt, be a very convenient one for him, and
possibly by maintaining it, he means to provide for his future
occasions. It is well to be secured against every contingency, but
Mr. GENET must not rest his fate upon the imbecility of the
American government.

But "the Constitution of the United States, having denied the
government the right of declaring war, this prohibition ought to
extend itself to every sort of offensive act." It is not true that the
Constitution has denied the government the right of declaring war.
I am not disposed, Sir, to cavil upon words, and am willing to
make every allowance for the blunders of Mr. GENET'S trans
lators; but the affectation of using the word government, instead
of the proper expression of President of the United States, is a defect
inherent in the original, and may easily be traced to the embar
rassment, not of the translator, but of the author himself. His
recent experience had taught him that the people of America were
not in a temper to countenance an insult upon the President of the
Union ; and he thought it more adviseable to veil this new attack
upon his authority, under the cover of a different expression.
The protest therefore is worded against an act of the govern
ment, which the revocation is not, and cautiously avoids speaking
of the President, who is really the object of the attack. The
passage here cited is an instance of the manifest absurdities into
which his awkward expedient had led him; but what opinion
must he entertain of the American understanding, when he sup
poses that it can possibly be the dupe of so miserable an artifice ?

174 THE WRITINGS OF [1793

What opinion of their judgment, when he thinks them less attached
to the government of their country, than to the person of their
chief magistrate ?

When he tells us how far the prohibition ought to extend itself,
is it an amendment or a construction of the Constitution, that he
means to dictate to the government ? If an amendment, his
command implies an enlargement of the functions limited by the
constitutional act : If a construction, the government cannot obey
his directions, without narrowing their defined authority. Just
before this he says that a government can neither enlarge nor
narrow the marked limits of their functions, but some singular
fatality never permits him to advance a reasonable position,
without compelling him immediately to contradict himself, and
disclaim his transient and unnatural coincidence with truth.

Nor is it true that the Constitution of the United States has
reserved to the Representatives of the people the right of declaring
war. An assertion so glaringly false, or so inexcuseably inaccurate,
affords the clearest demonstration, that its author is equally desti
tute of every qualification necessary to amend or to construe a
Constitution.

There is therefore nothing in the letter of the Minister, or in the
protest bearing the name of the Consul, but made by his superior's
direction, that can give the faintest color to his pretence, that the
President was not authorised to revoke DUPLAINE'S exequatur.

But if the President has this authority, he may involve us in a
War. This argument applies not against the power, but the abuse
of it. If the foreign Agent is dismissed for real misconduct on his
part, the dismission gives no cause of complaint, much less of War
to his master. If the President exerts this authority without
satisfactory evidence of the Agent's guilt, and thereby exposes the
country to the first resentment of a foreign power, it is a breach
of trust for which he is liable to impeachment, and removal from
his office. There is no doubt but the execution of the President's
powers might be such as would involve the country in a War. By
giving or refusing his assent to a bill he might produce a War ;

1793] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 175

by performing at particular junctures any part of his acknowledged
rights he might occasion a War; nay, by acknowledging and re
ceiving an Ambassador from a power not authorised to send one,
the case might happen that he must inevitably drive the Country
into a War. Yet this is represented not only as an authorised,
but even an obligatory function of his office, by the Minister him
self, both in his letter and in the protest.

The Constitution of the United States has made the Declaration
of War a Legislative Act, and thereby has expressly vested the right
of making it in the Congress, to whom it has entrusted the Legis
lative Power. This principle was, no doubt, adopted upon the
mature deliberation, and upon the conclusion drawn by the framers
of the Constitution, and by the people of America, that this declara
tion properly belongs to the Legislative Department of Govern
ment. But the Constitution has not said, that the President shall
perform no function which in its consequence might be productive
of a war. Such a provision would have been tantamount to a
declaration that the President should have no powers at all.

In resuming the argument which is now submitted to the public,
the principles upon which it is grounded may be reduced to the
following simple positions :

That there is in this country, as in all sovereign states, a power
competent to dismiss the agent of a foreign power, for any heinous
and aggravated offence against the laws, committed by him under
color of executing his office.

That the exertion of this authority, from the nature of the thing,
and by the practice of all nations, falls properly within the Execu
tive Department of Government.

That the administration of foreign affairs is delegated to the
Government of the Union, and the executive power expressly
vested in the President.

And, therefore, that the power of dismissing such a criminal
agent is strictly within the limits of the authority constitutionally
delegated to the President.

But Mr. GENET does not allow the National Government so

176 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

much as a right originally to complain of an infraction of the laws
by a French Vice-Consul. He insists upon investing their right
exclusively in the Legislature of the state where the offence was
committed : and with imperious arrogance calls upon the President
to procure an examination of DUPLAINE'S conduct by the Legisla
ture of Massachusetts. Let us therefore candidly enquire, whether
this measure which he so confidently demands, be really consist
ent with the laws and constitutions which guard the liberties and
secure the happiness of the American people.1

TO JOHN ADAMS

DEAR SIR : QUINCY, January 5, 1794.

I must apologize for not having answered before this
your last letter, but your conjectures with respect to Colum
bus were not without foundation, and what with politics and
law, what with public and private discussion, I have scarcely
had a moment that I could call my own to perform my
duties to you. Columbus has been attacked in the Chronicle
by a writer under the signature of Americanus, and defended
by another subscribing himself Barneveld? Columbus and

1 The fourth communication appeared in the Columbian Centinel, December 18,
1793, and was confined to the point outlined above. The letters were widely copied
and called out many replies. "The President, however, with the unanimous con
currence of the four officers of state, has formed the same judgment with Columbus,
and I hear no members of Congress who profess to differ from them." John
Adams to John Ouincy Adams, December 14, 1793. Ms. "I have read all the
numbers with attention, and consider them a valuable present to the public,
tending to place in a true and just point of view the conduct of a man who has dis
graced his office, and made himself so obnoxious as scarcely to be entitled to common
decency. Partisans may rail, but sound reason will enlighten and prevail." Abi
gail Adams to John Quincy Adams, December 30, 1793. Ms.

2 The letters of "Americanus" were printed in the Independent Chronicle, be
ginning December 19; those of " Barneveld," in the same paper, beginning Decem
ber 26. Both series ran into January, 1794. Mrs. Adams wrote on January 12:
"I know of but one title which Americanus has to respect, and that is what nature
could not withhold from him — age."

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 177

Barneveld we are told are one and the same person, and
the discussion is therefore still protracted, though I hope it
will soon be closed.

The public here have been sufficiently favorable to Co
lumbus. The applause which from many different quarters
has been bestowed upon his letters in private conversations
has been so much superior to their merits, that I dare not
repeat the observations which have been reported to me
lest you should suspect the author of vanity beyond the
limits of common extravagance. In one of the last Centinels
there is a sonnet to the writer of Columbus which you will
probably have seen before this reaches you, and by which
you will perceive that even the Muses have promised him
the wreath of glory to entwine his brows. On the other
hand the saturnine genius of the Chronicle has devoted to
ineffable contempt the "petulance and affected wit of Co
lumbus and Barneveld, most of which (he says) is A SORT of
literary plagiarism from Junius " ; they are called the "as
pirations of family pride" and the "Juvenile author" is
assured that he will not be rescued from contempt even
by the "high station of his sire."

You will not suspect me to be much affected by criticisms
like this. But there is one symptom calculated above all
others to congeal every source of future exertion. It is the
manner with which these publications are received by some
of my friends, and by many others, who would be clamorous
enough in praise of the sentiments, if they were not dis
posed to check the aspirations of the writer. The public is
a lady having so many admirers, that a favor is not to be
obtained from her by one of them with impunity. And
even when the favor desired is nothing more than a simple
smile of approbation, she cannot grant it without exciting
all the evil energies of those whose ardor aims at much more
familiar caresses.

i;8 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

Yet I cannot write for the common purposes of ambition.
I cannot wish to be the rival of any candidate for public of
fice of any kind. My first and certainly at present my only
object is to run with honor and reputation the career of my
profession, and whenever I have joined in the public dis
cussion of political questions it has certainly been from
motives more patriotic than personal. My country is
entitled to my services however small their value may be,
and if she will but approve I shall not ask her to reward them.

The state of our public affairs assumes an appearance not
only critical but alarming. Yet I cannot think our greatest
danger to be apprehended from external enemies. They
may distress us, but we can be ruined only by ourselves.
We shall soon have no friends on this side heaven, and we
shall have none but enemies there, unless we heal in some
measure our internal divisions. To conciliate and unite
appears to me at the present moment more than ever the
interest and duty of every American. With respect to
Genet and his frenzies, the object is in some measure ac
complished. But the prime agent to produce this effect
has been his own folly. I wish that the wisdom of others
may extend the principle of reconciliation to the other im
portant interests of the country.

The winter vacation has given me some considerable res
pite from the forms of attending upon courts ; but our
Common Pleas commence their session this week, and for
the future three months my attention will again be directed
to my own concerns. No man I find can serve two masters,
and my professional studies have been somewhat neglected
while I have been perplexing myself with the affairs of the
nation. The Attorney General l is now at home, so that I
shall of course be superseded in my official ministration at

1 Sullivan.

i?94l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 179

the sessions. He looks at me with less complacency than
ever, and is said to be the writer of Americanus. He in
tends, it is said, to stand as candidate for Governor, and I
have some curiosity to see how he will manage his card so as
to keep upon terms with the prophet Samuel 1 and his party.
Both Jacobins, both Frenchmen, both pretending to be the
slavish adorers of our sovereign lords the people. It is
however conjectured by some that Sullivan will crouch and
accommodate by taking the second station. This would
certainly be his best policy, and would probably unite a
strong party in his favor. The oldest head will no doubt
wear the tiara, but his ambition will perhaps not be con
tented with a place, which would deprive him of his present
office, which is doubly lucrative, and perhaps tie up his
tongue at the bar. . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, March 2, 1794.
DEAR SIR:

You will doubtless hear before this reaches you the event
of a town meeting which was called here lately 2 for the pur
pose of helping forward Mr. Madison's resolutions,3 and of

1 Samuel Adams.

2 February 24, 1794. See Columbian Ctnlinel, February 26, 1794, and Inde
pendent Chronicle, February 27, for the two interpretations of the proceedings.

3 These resolutions were intended to place the commerce of the United States
upon a better footing by imposing heavier duties upon the goods and vessels of
nations having no commercial treaties with the United States and reducing existing
duties upon the manufactures and shipping of those having treaties. They were
printed in Annals of Congress, jd Cong. 155, and in Writings of James Madison
(Hunt), VI. 203. Aimed against Great Britain because of seizures of American
merchantmen in the West Indies, they sought to protect the rights of American
citizens from violation in any quarter. They aroused much party feeling, and Madi
son felt the criticisms and abuse directed against himself and the resolutions from

i8o THE WRITINGS OF [i794

intimidating our representatives who opposed them. After
great [exertions] had been made to raise a Committee
ready for everything, [and the] Committee had reported a
number of resolves to answer [their purp]oses, a very decided
majority of a crowded town meeting voted to adjourn with
out day, and did not even hear a discussion of the resolves.
The lurking serpent was perceived and avoided. The com
mercial part of the town were almost unanimous, and the
aversion to any measures which might be productive of war
appeared very decidedly to be the prevailing sentiment with
the citizens of every description. The Jacobins were com
pletely discomfited, and will have the mortification to find
their intended poison operate as an invigorating cordial.

The arrival of the new Minister from France and recall of
Genet is another circumstance of mortification to the same
party.1 They are not yet sure that Mr. Fauchet will imitate
his predecessor by connecting himself and his country with a
desperate faction intent upon the ruin of our own government ;
and while that remains an uncertainty, they feel extremely
fearful of losing their main support. I hope however that
the new plenipotentiary will pursue a different system, and
that we shall still be permitted to remain at peace.

Our Supreme Court has been sitting about a fortnight.
Without being overburdened with business I have on my
hands sufficient to employ almost all my time, and to keep

the Eastern States. Of this meeting he wrote to Jefferson : "It appears, however,
that in spite of all these diabolical manoeuvres, the town of Boston has been so far
awakened as to have a meeting in the town-house, and a pretty unanimous vote
for a committee to consider the subject, and report proper instructions for their
member in Congress. The Committee consists of men of weight, and, for the most
part, of men of the right sort. There are some, however, who will endeavour to
give a wrong turn to the business." Writings of James Madison (Rives), II. 2.

1 Fauchet's instructions were dated November 15, 1793, and he was received
February 22, 1794. His despatches are in Correspondence of the French Ministers
(Turner).

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 181

upon my mind a continual anxiety which unfits me for any
thing else. This will be my excuse for having so long neg
lected to write you.

Since the contest between Americanus and Barneveld, the
reputed author of the former has treated me with an un
usual degree of civility. He has even in one or two causes
of considerable consequence advised his clients to engage
me. I know the man, and shall have as little dependance
upon his kindness as I have fear of his resentment. I know
he will never injure me while I keep myself out of the reach
of his malice. . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, March 24, 1794.
DEAR SIR :

. . . The depredations committed upon the commerce of
thrs country have considerably distressed and still more
alarmed our merchants, and if the principle upon which the
British have lately proceeded to seize our ships be persisted
in, I fear we shall have no alternative but war; indeed it is
of itself a state of war to have everything that passes under
the denomination of supplies liable to capture.1

1 On November 6, 1793, "additional instructions" were issued to all British
ships of war and privateers with letters of marque against France, to take all ships
"laden with goods the produce of any colony belonging to France, or carrying
provisions or other supplies for the use of any such colony," and bring ships and
cargoes to legal adjudication in British courts of admiralty. The English minister
(Grenville) afterwards explained that the order was of a temporary character, to
prevent abuses that might take place in consequence of the whole Santo Domingo
fleet having gone to the United States, and because of an intended attack upon the
Frencli West Indie islands by a British fleet. American State Papers, Foreign
Relations, I. 430.

"The merchants, particularly of New England, have had a terrible slam in the
West Indies. About a hundred vessels have been seized by the British for con
demnation on the pretext of enforcing the laws of the monarchy with regard to

1 82 THE WRITINGS OF [i794

The aversion of our people to war is however constantly
strengthening, and has of late upon several occasions ap
peared in a very decided manner. The event of our town
meeting exhibited very forcibly the public sentiment here ;
a still later occasion has shown the prevalence of the same
sentiments.

An attempt was last week made to celebrate the late suc
cesses of the French by a second civic festival. It was set
on foot by the Jacobin-antifederal faction, and they ap
pointed a Committee who applied to the Lieutenant Gov
ernor to order out the military and to make a display in be
half of the Commonwealth. He at first complied with their
request, ordered out an artillery company, and directed that
they should be supplied with one hundred cartridges at the
expense of the State, that is, from the public magazines ; l but
what with squibs upon the subject in the newspapers, and
with serious expostulations from some respectable gentle
men who got intimidated, one despicable passion rescued
him from the disgrace which another was bringing upon
him, and he countermanded his orders. The civic "festival
is postponed and we shall hear no more of it until some new
accident shall give another clue to those who set it on foot.2

the colony trade. The partisans of England, considering a war as now probable,
are endeavoring to take the lead in defensive preparations, and to acquire merit
with the people by anticipating their wishes." Madison to Jefferson, March 12,
1794. Writings of James Madison (Rives), II. 6. A proposal for an embargo
was at first negatived, chiefly by northern votes ; but in the face of further losses
in the West Indies, and the clamors of the eastern shipowners it passed the House
by a large majority, March 25, and became a law.

1 "A feast is to be had in this town to celebrate the victories of the French. The
Lt. Governor [Samuel Adams], we hear, has ordered that the collation shall be
served in the Senate chamber; and that a military corps shall parade in honor
of the day." Gore to King, March 19, 1794. Life and Correspondence of Rufus
King, I. 555.

2 See Independent Chronicle, March 20 and 24.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 183

The old gentleman has hurt himself by this improper com
pliance with an insolent request. The general opinion
seems to be that there will be no choice of a governor by
the people at our ensuing election. It is my opinion how
ever that Mr. Adams will be chosen. He may do less harm
than some others, but he will certainly never do any good.
Stat magni nominis umbra. His present impotence leans
for support on his former services, and the office will be
given him as a reward, not as an employment. I am, etc.1

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, April 12, 1794.
DEAR SIR:

I received this morning your favor of the 3d instant. We
still hold tolerably firm to the text of neutrality, though we
have our partialities for the French, and are much irritated
against the British. This is natural enough, and indeed,
although we have some grounds of complaint against both
with respect to their treatment of our commerce in their
present contest, yet it is not to be denied that the general
disposition of the French ruling powers has been constantly
favorable to us, and that the British government, acrimoni
ous, jealous and under the guise of fair pretensions, deeply
malignant. The new instructions of the 8th of January
have an appearance less hostile than those under which
most of our vessels in the West Indies have been condemned,

1 "At the second Town meeting I am informed you came forward and acquired
much honor, as the business eventually redounded to the honor of the town of
Boston. I was pleased that you had signalized yourself. I see very plainly
whither your bark is tending. In vain you may cry, Quo me rapit tempestas ! it must
be so. You must be your father's own son, notwithstanding the rocks he has
pointed out to you." Charles Adams to John Quincy Adams, New York, April 10,
1794- Ms.

184 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

and if we can labor through another summer without a war,
I hope the affairs of Europe will assume a milder aspect.1
The unprecedented exertions which have convulsed that
quarter of the globe are surely too violent for duration.
The combined powers have made so little impression upon
France, and have already suffered so severely, that I think
they cannot hold out much longer. They must, I think,
patch up a peace upon such terms as they can ; but how they
can exist under their present governments, or any other,
with a nation of fanatical atheists, all warriors, in the midst
of them, is indeed a problem which nothing but time can
solve.

Our election of Governor took place last Monday. The
numerous candidates of whom everybody talked, and for
whom nobody intended to vote, had silently sunk into ob
livion, and Judge Gushing alone remained to be opposed to
the claimant by succession.11 In this town uncommon pains

1This order will be found in American State Papers, Foreign Relations, I. 431.
Lord Grenville explained to Pinckney that the new order was issued to show the
sincere desire of the administration to maintain the best understanding and har
mony with the United States, and to remove the pretext " from evil disposed per
sons" in the United States who were endeavoring to irritate the people against
Great Britain and opposing the measures of their government.

"The later accounts from the West Indies since the new instruction of January
8 are rather favorable to the merchants, and alleviate their resentments ; so that
Great Britain seems to have derived from the excess of her aggressions a title to
commit them in a less degree with impunity." Madison to Jefferson, April 28,
1794. Writings of James Madison (Rives), II. 10.

The serious situation in the relations between the United States and Great
Britain gave occasion to a special mission to England, John Jay being named as
the special envoy. Washington had considered John Adams for the place, but
Robert Morris objected, for a reason not stated. See King's memoranda on the
origin of this mission in Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, I. 517-

2 Gore had written to King in December: "The federalists talk of running Judge
Gushing for governor, and there is some probability that he may be elected. Such
an event is very desirable. It would make Massachusetts completely federalist."
Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, I. 511.

i794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 185

were taken by both parties. There were 500 votes more
than have ever been given upon any former election. Mr.
Adams had 1400, and Judge Gushing 900. Our federalists
droop the head and think all is lost. They know not so
much of the human heart, or of the American character as
you do. You told me what the event of the election would
be last October, and I then thought your "oracle plus sur que
celui de Chalcas." A friend of mine who lives in the coun
try, by the name of Townsend,1 a sensible man and a warm
Federalist, has repeatedly told me previous to the election,
that he did not think the prophet would even have votes
enough to make him a candidate for the election. Why ?
Because he is superannuated and antifederal. I have so
often told him that I believed the choice of the people
would be for this doting antifederalist. Since the election
he writes me "I give you joy of the prospect of your old
friend's being elected Governor. The votes went very
different from what I expected. I was not sufficiently ac
quainted with the moral habits of the people. The main argu
ment of his being a scapegoat of seventy-five had more
weight than I had expected." There will probably be no
choice of Lieutenant Governor by the people. Mr. Adams's
partisans in this town voted for Mr. Gill. He will probably
be the highest candidate.

My business I can hope will increase. But as it is I
have no disposition to complain. It gives me bread and
I find myself so well satisfied with that, that my greatest ap
prehension is of growing indolent and listless. It is hardly
possible to obtain a conquest over the ambitious principle
without subduing in some measure that of an honorable
activity. You recommend to me to attend the town meet-

1 Horatio Townsend (1763-1826), a fellow-student with Adams in Judge Parsons'
office. See Life in a New England Town, 30 n.

1 86 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

ings and make speeches ; to meet with caucuses and join
political clubs. But I am afraid of all these things. They
might make me a better politician, and give me an earlier
chance of appearing as a public man ; but that would throw
me completely in the power of the people, and all my future
life would be a life of dependence. I had rather continue
some time longer in obscurity, and make some provision for
fortune, before I sally out in quest of fame or of public
honors. . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

BOSTON, April 22, 1794.
DEAR SIR :

I received last week your favor containing the quotations
upon the subject of sequestering debts.1 I have not Ruther
ford, and know not whether it is owned in this town. But
I have looked into Grotius, who gives the same opinion with
Puffendorf as to the debt from the Thessalians to the Thebans
which Alexander forgave. But their reasoning upon that
case seems founded principally but not altogether upon the
right of conquest, and admits but of a partial application to
the propositions of the present time. There is in Grotius
something more pointed to the state of our question. He
says : "A king has a greater right in the goods of his sub
jects for the public advantage than the proprietors them-

1 "The old debtors to British subjects, united with the over zealous friends of
France and the Democratical Societies of our principal cities, are urging a seques
tration of things in action : and as I know you are not inattentive to any question
of public law, I have enclosed you some minutes of authorities, and I wish you to
look into all others relative to the subject." John Adams to John Quincy Adams,
Philadelphia, April 5, 1794. Ms.

On March 27 Jonathan Dayton, of New Jersey, introduced a resolution to seques
ter all debts due from citizens of the United States to British subjects, the proceeds
to be used to indemnify all who had suffered from British violations of the rights
of neutrality and of the Law of Nations.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 187

selves. And when the exigencies of the state require a
supply, every man is more obliged to contribute towards it
than to satisfy his creditors." Grotius I. 1.6. Barbeyrac's
note upon this passage is: "And consequently the sover
eign may discharge a debtor from the obligation of paying
either for a certain time or forever, if the public good re
quires it." He gives an example from the Roman history
after the battle of Cannae.

These observations however seem to be confined to the
debts due from one subject to another, and the influence of
an act done at an epoch so calamitous cannot be cited as a
fair precedent upon occasions when the common laws and the
natural obligations of justice are not superseded by extreme
necessity.

That the sequestration of British debts must be considered
as a direct act of hostility cannot I think admit of a doubt.
But the instructions of the 6th of November were a direct
act of hostility on their part. After the recapture of Toulon
they did, it is true, pretend to explain them away and re
pealed them. But in the meantime the depredations com
mitted upon our commerce by their privateers and West
India judges, under color of those orders, have been enor
mous, and such as a free and spirited people cannot tolerate.
It is not surprising that the commercial part of the commu
nity have been so much exasperated, or that propositions so
rash and intemperate have met with so much countenance
in the national counsels.

There is indeed something so fraudulent in the aspect of
the proposals that the measure, if adopted, must be very dis
graceful to the nation. It is a dishonorable resentment
which would afford a gratification to our enemies, because
it would make us accessary to our own infamy, the instru
ments of our own shame. It is a rod which can only tickle

1 88 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

our adversaries, but which may be turned into a deadly
scourge upon ourselves. It is an expedient suggested by
our passion to our weakness, and which nothing but our
real impotence can in any degree extenuate. Yet what
else can we do ? If they will assail us as highway robbers,
we must pilfer from them as pickpockets. We cannot
fight, and therefore we must cheat them. This appears to
me to be the real state of the argument, and all that can be
said in favor of the sequestration.

Since writing the above I received your favor of the I2th.
I have read the case to which you refer in the Collectanea
Juridica, but I do not find that Magens is owned here. The
question at that time was in many respects different from
ours, and the seizure of the debt, or rather its detention by
the King of Prussia, less warrantable than a sequestration
would be as now proposed. His cause of complaint was in
comparably less than ours. It does not appear that any
violation of the laws of nations had been committed.1 Cer
tainly, nothing so flagrant as the instructions of the 6th of
November. All the condemnations had been upon the real
grounds either of enemy's goods or contraband trade. Then
the debt was the King's. His faith had been pledged for
its payment. Circumstances rendered it a debt of peculiar
and more than ordinary obligation upon him to discharge.
All these points are dwelt upon in the report of the King of
England's law officers, and very few of their arguments could
now be applied against the measure on our part.

1 In 1752 the King of Prussia, as an act of reprisal, stopped the payment of in
terest due by him to English creditors on the Silesian loan. Such a measure, al
most unprecedented in modern times, called out a memorial from the British
government, prepared by Sir George Lee, Dr. Paul, Sir Dudley Ryder, and Mr.
Murray, afterwards Lord Mansfield. It has generally been commended by pub
licists, and was characterized by Vattel as "an excellent morceau de droit des gens"
Collectanea Juridica, I. 154.

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 189

I have not met with an instance of reprisals upon debts
in the course of the present century. I am, etc.

TO JOHN ADAMS

DEAR SIR : BOSTON, May 26th, 1794.

Mr. [Ebenezer] Dorr obtained a passage in the vessel with
Mr. Jay, and Mr. [Edward] Jones had an opportunity to go
from Newport, so that they had no occasion to make the
application to Congress in behalf of which I requested your
favor.1

I drew another petition some time since for the manufac
turers of snuff and tobacco in this town, making representa
tions against the tax proposed upon those articles. I know
not whether you have seen this petition, or in what light it
appeared if you did. In the House of Representatives I
believe it was not read, and the tax I understand has passed.
I was somewhat puzzled for reasons to suggest against it.

The session of Congress I presume is approaching to a
close. The prospects of immediate war appear to blow over.
Whether we shall be able to make any terms of accommoda
tion with Great Britain and obtain proper satisfaction for
her insolence and violence, is still very questionable, but it
is of infinite importance that we should preserve peace,
until war shall become a duty.

It is therefore fortunate for the country that the pas
sionate measures which have been proposed were all defeated.
That for the suspension of intercourse with Great Britain
was one of the most important of them. Your decision of
that question probably gave the tone to our affairs for one

1 They were merchants of Boston who desired to obtain leave to send a small
vessel in ballast to some port in Europe to secure their property. The embargo
prevented all communication with Europe.

190 THE WRITINGS OF [i794

season further. The fate of this country depended upon
that vote.1 I expected it would have renewed the abusive
system which was for some time so rancorously pursued, but
which for some time past has drooped away. But very
little has been said upon the subject, and I have not seen a
single speculation in the prints upon it.

The cessation of the embargo is offensive to our Jacobins,
who are reduced to the argument, that either the Congress
were precipitate in laying it on, or imprudent in taking it
off.2 I have silenced some of them by avowing the former
as my opinion.

1 Abraham Clarke, of New Jersey, had introduced a resolution, April 5, for sus
pending all commercial communication with Great Britain. It passed the House,
but was lost in the Senate by the casting vote of the Vice-President — John Adams.

2 See McMaster, History of the People of the United States, II. 173, 174. The
embargo was raised May 25. " The Secretary of State called upon me this morning
to inform me by order of the President, that it was determined to nominate you to
go to Holland as Resident Minister. The President desired to know if I thought
you would accept. I answered that I had no authority from you, but it was my
opinion that you would accept, and that it would be my advice that you should.
. . . Your knowledge of Dutch and French, your education in that country, your
acquaintance with my old friends there, will give you advantages beyond many
others. It will require all your prudence and all your other virtues as well as all
your talents. ... Be secret. Don't open your mouth to any human being on
the subject except your mother. Go and see with how little wisdom this world
is governed." John Adams to John Quincy Adams, Philadelphia, May 26, 1794.
Ms.

"The nomination, which is the result of the President's own observations and
reflections, is as politic, as it is unexpected. It will be a proof that sound principles
in morals and government are cherished by the executive of the United States, and
that study, science and literature are recommendations which will not be over
looked. It will, or at least it ought to have in England and Holland more effect
than any thing that has been done, except perhaps the appointment of Mr. Jay.
It is a pledge given by the American cabinet, that they are not enemies to a rational
form of government, and that they are not hurried away by a wild enthusiasm for
every unmeaning cry of Liberty, Republicanism and Equality." Ibid., May 29,
1794. Ms. The nomination was laid before the Senate May 29, and confirmed on
the following day.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 191

You have seen the operation of democratic clubs in this
town by the dismission of Mr. Jones and the election of Mr.
Morton as representative.1 Morton has of late been a
violent sans-culotte, and faction covers at least as great a
multitude of sins as charity.

The opposite party have not so much industry and have
not the advantage of an organized system. Otis had about
200 votes but did not obtain his election. Jarvis was for
merly his warm political friend, and probably viewed him as
a disciple of his own ; but finding him intractable and rather
falling into the other scales, he has forsaken him, and of
course carried off a powerful interest. Jarvis's electioneering
influence in this town is very great. . . .

COMMISSION TO THE NETHERLANDS1

GEORGE WASHINGTON,
President of the United States of America

To John Quincy Adams. — Greeting.

Reposing especial trust and confidence in your integrity, pru
dence and ability, I have nominated, and by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, do appoint you the said JOHN QUINCY
ADAMS Minister Resident for the United States of America with
their High Mightinesses the States General of the United Nether
lands, authorizing you hereby to do and perform all such matters
and things as to the said place or office doth appertain, or as may
be duly given you in charge hereafter, and the said office to hold
and exercise during the pleasure of the President of the United
States for the time being. IN TESTIMONY whereof I have caused the
seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed. Given under my
hand at the City of Philadelphia the thirtieth day of May, in the
year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety four,

1 Perez Morton succeeded John Coffin Jones.

f Adams succeeded to William Short, at this time at the Court of Madrid.

I92 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

and of the Independence of the United States of America the

eighteenth.

GEO. WASHINGTON.

By the President of the United States of America,

(SEAL) EDMUND RANDOLPH, Secretary of State.

TO JOHN ADAMS

PHILADELPHIA, July 10, 1794.
DEAR SIR :

I arrived here last evening, and this morning paid my
respects to the Secretary of State, who introduced me to the
President. I find that it is their wish that I should be as
expeditious in my departure as possible. I told the Secre
tary that the state of my own affairs would render my re
turn to Boston previous to my departure extremely eligible
to myself. He inquired whether it would be indispensable.
I replied that in my present situation I could view nothing
as indispensable that could relate to my own affairs, and if
the public service required it, I should be prepared to go
from hence or from New York. He has allotted me about
ten days to spend in his office in obtaining the necessary
information, and I expect it will be required of me to proceed
immediately after from hence or from New York. Of this
however I am not yet certain. I shall write you again as
soon as I shall have any foundation for certainty upon the
subject. . . -1

1 He occupied his time in reading such material bearing upon his mission as was
in the Department of State, and found opportunity to examine the six volumes of
his father's despatches to the Continental Congress while he was their commissioner
and minister in Europe. They proved, he wrote, "such a fund of information
and of entertainment to me as I have seldom met with in the course of my life.'*
Finding that the law allowed him a secretary of legation, he offered the place to his
brother, Thomas Boylston Adams, who, after some hesitation, accepted the appoint
ment.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 193

TO JOHN ADAMS

PHILADELPHIA, July 27th, 1794.
DEAR SIR :

I expected to have been on my way to Boston before this,
but Mr. Hamilton is gone into the country, and I cannot be
supplied with my instructions until he returns. He has been
expected every hour these four days, and it is very possible
that four days hence he may still be hourly expected. In the
meanwhile I am here lolling away my time, and sweating
away my person, with nothing to do and waiting with as
much patience as I have at command. I am unable to say,
therefore, when I shall leave this place, but hope it will be
by the middle of this week.

But I presume that my instructions after all will contain
nothing very particular. The Secretary of State says that
the mission is almost exclusively reduced to a pecuniary
negotiation.

To have nothing further to do but to borrow money and
superintend the loans already existing, is an employment to
which for a certain time I have no reluctance in submitting.
It is a situation in which my services may be of some small
utility to my country, and which may afford me a valuable
opportunity to improve my information and talents ; but
I cannot think of it with any satisfaction as a permanency,
whether I consider it with reference to the public or to my
self.

As it respects the public, it is a situation of small trust
and confidence under the present circumstances. The
credit of the United States stands upon such ground that
very little or none of their future success or failure will de
pend upon the personal character or abilities of their repre
sentative there. And I presume the executive government

I94 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

of this country will not think it necessary to keep a Minister
constantly resident at the Hague for the sole purpose of
occasionally borrowing a sum of money for the public at
Amsterdam.

Should that however be the policy of the government, and
should it be at my option to continue from year to year in
this state of nominal respectability and real insignificance, it
is proper for me to determine how long I shall bear it. And
this is a subject of much reflection and much anxiety to my
mind.1

I have abandoned the profession upon which I have
hitherto depended for a future subsistence. Abandoned it
at a time when the tedious novitiate of hope and fear was
nearly past ; when flattering and brightening prospects
were every day opening more and more extensively to my
view ; when I was at least upon a footing of equal advantage
with any one of my own standing in the profession, and
advancing if not rapidly at least with regular progression
towards eminence ; when the reward of long and painful ex
pectation began to unfold itself to my sight and give me a
rational hope of future possession. At this critical moment,
when all the materials for a valuable reputation at the bar
were collected and had just begun to operate favorably for me,
I have stopped short in my career, forsaken the path which
would have led me to independence and security in private
life, and stepped into a totally different direction.

To that profession I can never return without losing many
of the advantages which rendered its practice tolerable. The

1"Some principle I must determine upon before I go; for my commission is
during the pleasure of the President. It is a tenancy at will, and therefore it is
proper that I should settle beforehand the contingencies upon which my will shall
determine, upon the supposition that the President should not make such determina
tion on my part unnecessary. I wish to serve my country, but not to feed upon
her for nothing." To John Adams, July 20, 1794. Ms.

i794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 195

reputation which hitherto I had acquired was still very
much confined and limited ; it was founded upon four years
of constant application and attention to business. My
absence will not only stop its growth, but will carry me back
to that obscurity in which I began. The study of the com
mon and statute law has nothing attractive to secure any
attention to it unless some inducement of immediate interest
serves as a stimulus. My business and my studies in the
character which I am now to assume have very little affinity
with those of a practising lawyer. I shall probably have
but little leisure, and shall not be disposed to devote it to
Kings Bench or Chancery Reports, to Littleton's Tenures
or Coke's Commentaries. Yet these studies must essentially
be uninterrupted to preserve the learning of a lawyer, and
two or three years' intermission will have the double effect
of disgusting me with them, and of disqualifying me from
the practise of the law without a redoubled application to
them.

In proportion as my own professional advancement will
be checked that of my contemporaries, and particularly of
those who started from the goal nearly at the same time
with myself, will be promoted. They will continue to make
their way, and will in a few years have reached the summit
of reputation and of business. My juniors who are now
just opening their offices, or are yet students, will then have
reached the station from which I have departed, and thus
after having been elevated to a public station much beyond
my own wishes and expectations, and invested with a
character more conspicuous than those of my fellow citi
zens of equal years and standing in the world, in returning
to the bar I shall descend as much below the level of my
ambition and pretensions as I have been by my present
appointment raised above it.

196 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

The profession, therefore, can be considered by me in no
other light than that of a last resort, in case all other re
sources should fail ; and yet I have no reason to suppose
that anything more eligible will occur to me in case I should
at the end of two or three years be destitute of public em
ployment.

Unpleasant however as this perspective is, I think it in
finitely preferable to that of remaining in the public service
to perform duties which may be executed equally well by
any other man, and with the consciousness of holding a
public office without confidence, without utility, and for no
other purpose than barely to give me a subsistence.

The idea of being many years absent from my country,
from my family, my connections and friends, is so painful,
that I feel a necessity for fixing upon some period to which
I may look forward with an expectation of being restored to
them. The distance between the two countries is so great
and the communication of course so small, that it is hardly
possible for an American to be long in Europe without losing
in some measure his national character. The habits, the
manners, and affections insensibly undergo an alteration,
the common changes to which society is incident remove
many of the friends and connections which he left behind
him, and no others are substituted in their stead. His own
propensities are so liable to follow the course of the stream
into which he has been banished, that he gradually takes
an European disposition, becomes a stranger to his own
country, and, when at length he returns, finds himself an
alien in the midst of his own fellow citizens.

The attachment which I feel for my native land is not
merely a sentiment of the heart, it is also a principle dictated
by my reason. Independent of my feelings and inclinations,
I hold it to be a duty of the most rigid obligation to make the

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 197

place of my birth the centre of all my wishes, and the chief
object of all my pursuits. Wherever my lot may be cast, I
hope I shall always turn towards it with as much frequency of
devotion and as constant veneration, as that with which the
most faithful disciple of Mahomet presents his face towards
the tomb of his prophet. I cannot therefore look forward
with indifference to any situation that shall have a tendency
to loosen the ties which connect me with my country. I
cannot anticipate without concern a length of absence,
which may give my inclinations a bias different from that of
my duty.

For these reasons I am convinced of the propriety there
is in marking out for my own determination the limits of
time for the duration of my present mission. It is very
possible that I may have no occasion for any such limitation,
and that my commission will be superseded by the will of the
President, as soon or sooner than I shall desire ; but this is an
event, which is wholly out of my control, and which there
fore cannot enter into my calculations.

If after three years residence at the Hague I should see
no particular object requiring my further continuance
there; if the business of an American Minister there should
continue to be the mere agency of a broker, and my office be
of no benefit but to me, I shall feel myself under an obliga
tion to return home and resume my profession, or any other
employment in private life that shall afford me an honorable
support.

I have written very freely to you, Sir, upon this subject,
because I wish to have the sanction of your opinion and your
advice. The principle which I have adopted has been so
consonant to your own practice, and has been in my mind so
clearly the result of your instructions, that I think it cannot
but meet with your approbation. Perhaps the time upon

198 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

which I have fixed may not preserve so accurately the
medium as I should wish, and if you are of that opinion, I
must solicit you for the result of your reflections in writing,
if it be not too inconvenient. Your kindness will excuse
the unceasing egotism of this letter, which could admit of
no apology, were it not directed to the indulgence of a parent,
for the purpose of obtaining the guidance of paternal wis
dom. . . .

INSTRUCTIONS

PHILADELPHIA, July 29th, 1794.
SIR,

Your predecessor and yourself are furnished with all the docu
ments of form. To him have been sent letters of recall ; to you
have been delivered your commission and letters of credence to
the Stadtholder and States-General. You are also possessed of a
cypher.

Although the general history of a country, and its Constitution
will necessarily attract the attention of a minister and of the
government, from which he goes ; yet is it not only superfluous
to recommend to you the acquisition of subjects already known
to you, but we can also dispense with any special communications
upon them. However, if even concerning them, it should appear
that the books, from which our knowledge of the United Nether
lands is derived, go beyond or fall short of the truth, it will be ex
pected, that these observations should be noted to us. If, too, the
germ of any important change should be foreseen, it will be honor
able to yourself, and may be advantageous to the United States
to apprize us of it, as early as possible.

The administration indeed of the Dutch government is not only
liable to the fluctuations, which the administration of every
government undergoes, from the passions and views of individuals
at the helm of affairs ; but the peculiar situation of Holland in
relation to the present European war lays it open to the chance of
sudden revolutions, and very sudden and new courses of policy.

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 199

These and every other interesting occurrences will be marked
with care, and forwarded to the Secretary of State. Among
other things, which may be contemplated, as worthy of observa
tion ; if any symptom of increasing liberty, of dissatisfaction
with any of the combined powers, or of an inclination to make
peace with the French Republic should be found, you will hasten
to us the intelligence of them.

It will be at least a matter of curiosity to understand, in what
light the existing armed neutrality between Sweden and Denmark
is considered at the Hague, after the part, which Holland took
in the former system.

Notwithstanding we have ministers and consuls in other parts of
Europe; yet if you should obtain any very interesting intelligence
from countries not lying within your immediate functions, it will
be acceptable to receive it, even with the probability of some in
accuracy. The movements of the northern French armies may
continue to be in your neighborhood, and early opportunities from
France being cut off, we are dependent upon British prints for the
first breaking of French events.

Our treaty with Holland l being the basis of our commercial
intercourse, you will do well to inquire into the operations of every
stipulation; and as it is a great desideratum in our political ar
chives, that we have no authentic tables of our commerce in
detail with different nations, it will be an essential service to
collect minute statements of it with Holland. You understand too
well to be in need of an enumeration, what are the points in which
foreign commerce is valuable. To these therefore you will partic
ularly turn your mind ; and if our commerce can be relieved from
any burthens, or promoted by any exertions of the Executive
or Legislature ; you will put it in our power by proper and reason
able representations. The only thing which now occurs upon this
head is, that our treaty is interpreted not to suffer American
Consuls to be introduced into the Dutch Islands in our vicinity.
Mr. Van Berckel the Resident of the United Netherlands here,2

1 That of 1782, negotiated by John Adams. 2 Pieter J. van Berckel.

200 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

has been called upon to explain and to rectify the wrong ; but I can
obtain no written answer to two letters, which I have addressed to
him; the reason of which I presume from a conversation to be,
that he has no authority to enter into any adjustment. You will
therefore let this business be discussed ; as we entertain little
doubt, that Consuls of the United States ought to be admitted in
all the Dutch territories.

The employment of your predecessor has hitherto consisted in
the management of Loans, which belong to the Treasury Depart
ment. That therefore is the channel, through which you will
receive the will of the President in the article of money.

But I must intreat and urge you, to make it your first and un
remitting duty, to forward by all the means in your power the
loan opened for 800,000 dollars and destined to the ransom of
our fellow citizens in Algiers, and the effectuating of a peace.
Our bankers in Amsterdam have been commissioned for accom
plishing it, from the inevitable delay in your departure from hence.
The Secretary of the Treasury, however, will lead you into those
measures which may contribute to the advancement of the object.

Our Consuls in Holland and in the countries, convenient to
your residence are the following : James Greenleaf, consul, and
Sylvanus Bourne, vice consul, for the port of Amsterdam, John
Parish, consul for Hamburgh, and Arnold Delius, consul for
Bremen. They are under general instructions to correspond with
you, and as soon as arrangements concerning consuls and vice
consuls, which are scattered in different instructions shall be
reduced into one body, a copy of them shall be transmitted to
you. . . .

From you, Sir, I ask a communication by every opportunity.
The Executive having been under some inconvenience on that
score, it is the wish and instruction of the President, that a memor
andum be daily taken of every circumstance, which may be
deemed proper for his information, and a letter commenced and
continued, so as to be ready for conclusion and sealing, upon a
moment's warning of a conveyance. . . .

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 201

•As you have a right to correspond with the ministry of the nation,
near which you reside, in your own language, you will not lose
this advantage. . . .

EOM. RANDOLPH1

TO JOHN ADAMS

LONDON, October 23, 1794.
MY DEAR SIR :

On the 1 5th instant in the evening, twenty-eight days
after our departure from Boston, we arrived in this place,
and I now write you from our old station at Osborne's
Hotel, in the Adclphi.

We landed at Deal2 and came up from thence by land.
The dispatches which had been delivered to me for Mr. Jay,
and which were my principal inducement for coming hye,
were so bulky that they could not be contained in a trunk
which I could bring with me in the post chaise, and there
fore I had the trunk that held them lashed on before, so as to
have it immediately under my eyes. It was about seven in
the evening, and of course quite dark, when we reached
London Bridge. About a quarter of a mile on the other side
of it, I thought I heard something fall, and instantly upon

1 In a private letter, dated August 13, Randolph wrote : "The further despatches,
which I wished to send to you at New York, must be deferred for the next mail
to Boston, as it is all-important that you should carry to Europe a precise account
of the insurrection [in Pennsylvania]." Ms.

lie returned to New York before August 12, and left for Boston by the Rhode
Island packet on the morning of the I5th. Hamilton gave him the powers neces
sary to negotiate a loan, and from Randolph he had despatches to be delivered to
Jay and Pinckney. Nearly a month passed before he could obtain a passage, and
on September 15 he sailed from Boston in the Alfred, reaching London on the even
ing of October 15. It may be noted that James Monroe, appointed minister to
France to succeed Gouverneur Morris, reached Paris, August 2, five days after the
execution of Robespierre. Adams had met in New York, in July, Talleyrand and
Beaumetz. 2 See Adams, Memoirs, October 14, 1794.

202 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

looking forward found the trunk, together with another
which had been put with it, were both gone. My brother
instantly alighted and fortunately found the trunk of papers
directly under the carriage, the other was a few yards be
hind, under the horses' hoofs of another carriage which fol
lowed us. We secured both in the chaise with us until we
reached the house where we stopped, and upon coming to a
light found that the ropes and leather straps which had
held the trunks had all been cut away.

I was sufficiently aware how far the felonious ingenuity
was carried on this ingenious town, and from the moment of
my landing had felt a great weight of anxiety on my mind
with respect to my papers. I kept, therefore, a watch as
strict as possible over them, and yet I cannot but attribute
it to an extraordinary degree of good fortune that in the
noise and bustle of a London street in the darkness of the
night, I was enabled to save the trunk which had fallen from
a carriage upon the full drive over the pavements, and which
in half a minute more would have been irretrievably gone.

After such an accident I could not possibly sleep with
Mr. Jay's dispatches in my possession. I therefore de
livered them to him myself the same evening. I found he
had been two or three days confined to his chamber by
rheumatic complaints, but he has now I think entirely re
covered from them.

He has fully communicated to me the state of his negotia
tion here, and has done me the honor to consult me with re
spect to the treaty now in discussion between him and the
Ministry here. It has been brought so nearly to a termina
tion that I presume it will within three months be laid be
fore the Senate for consideration. The terms are such as
will not suit many people in America, and yet the stipula
tions on our part appear to me to be no more than honor and

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 203

honesty dictate, and the satisfaction to be made by them
almost as much (setting aside the further delay as to the
delivery of the posts, I should say quite as much) as we are
fairly entitled to require. The national honor will be main
tained, the national interest will suffer infinitely less than it
would by the most successful war we could wage ; and is it
in the heart of an American to derive an objection from the
consideration that by this treaty the national justice will be
fully complied with and performed ?

I have not supposed myself competent to form a proper
judgment upon a subject of this magnitude without longer
time and more extensive information than I have been able
to command. When Mr. Jay, therefore, condescended to
take my opinion, I told him that as to the whole project, I
felt myself inadequate to the decision from my own mind,
and I could but assent to the idea in which he and Mr.
Pinckney concurred, that it was better than War. As to the
several articles they were freely canvassed by those two
gentlemen for three days, during which I was present at
their interviews, and suggested such ideas as occurred to me
upon the subject. My observations were made with the
diffidence which naturally arose from my situation, and were
treated with all the attention that I would expect or desire.1

Upon the first occasion on which, as the servant of my
country, I have been called to think and to speak, I am de
sirous to give you a full account of the manner in which I
have conducted. Young as I am and unused to the station
in which I am placed, my only hope is that the indiscretions
of my novitiate may be few and unimportant. The con
fidence reposed in me by Mr. Jay on this occasion has been
flattering in the highest degree, and I hope he will have no
occasion to regret it. His kindness and civilities to my

1 He gives his views at length in Mfmoirs, October 22, 1794.

204 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

brother and me since our arrival, have been fully correspond
ent to the friendship which has so long subsisted between
him and you, and to the benevolence which I have always
experienced from him. We are also indebted to Mr.
Pinckney for every possible attention and civility since our
arrival. He has lately had the misfortune of losing his lady.

When I asked you before I left America what I should
do, if upon my arrival in Europe I should find no States Gen
eral and no Stadtholder,1 the circumstance was nearer to the
eventual fact than I expected. The successes of the French
armies in every quarter have exceeded all the powers of
calculation ; they are in full possession at this moment of all
Flanders and Brabant ; they are besieging Nimeguen and
Maestricht and it is admitted on all hands that nothing
remains but a general inundation to keep them out of Amster
dam. Against this measure there appears to be a formida
ble opposition on the part of the people. The patriotic
party are again emerging from the silence of despair, and
one or two of the Provinces have already declared for ne
gotiating a separate peace.

At Amsterdam a petition, said to be signed by nine thou
sand persons, was lately presented to the magistrates in ses
sion, against the admission of their allied troops into the
city and against the inundation. Mr. Van Staphorst2
and Mr. Visscher 3 were two of the three deputies from the
people who presented the petition. It was delivered in
defiance of a law against petitions in times of danger, and
I am informed that Mr. Van Staphorst is imprisoned in
consequence of this procedure. Troops of cavalry have
been introduced into the city and parade the streets. Can-

1 William V, who married Frederica Sophia Wilhelmina (1747-1820), niece of
Frederick the Great, and daughter of Prince August of Prussia.

2 Nicholas van Staphorst. 3 Charles Visscher.

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 205

non are placed at the Stadthouse, and attended with lighted
matches, and the Stadtholder has declared, that any man
who shall discover the smallest sign of opposition to the
regular authority shall be punished with instant death.

In this convulsive situation between the army of an in
vading enemy and those of allies equally terrible, the people
in the Province of Holland are at this moment placed. The
crisis cannot possibly be of long duration. The Stadt
holder has been invested by the States General with a dic
tatorial power. His measures probably will be to receive
the army of the Duke of York into Amsterdam, and to lay
the country under water. But the decided inclination of a
great majority of the people being opposed to this step, it
becomes a question whether it will be practicable and upon
the issue of the question the fate of the Netherlands is sus
pended.

The King of Prussia negotiates a separate peace ; Spain
and Sardinia in all probability must do the same; and the
Emperor is so thoroughly exhausted that he is almost
wholly disabled from continuing the war with any vigor.
At the opening of the campaign Britain and France, the
Rome and Carthage of modern times, will perhaps remain
alone to terminate the present contest.

You have long before this heard of the catastrophe of
Robespierre in France, and of the pretence upon which he
suffered.1 Since that time a party styling themselves the
Moderates have hitherto maintained their ascendency in
Paris and in the Convention. They all join in loading the
memory of Robespierre with every possible execration, and
have transferred to him the appellation of the Tyrant, which
had before been appropriated to the late King. The horrible
cruelty which has been so destructive at Lyons, in la Vendee,

1 Robespierre was beheaded July 28 (10 Thermidor).

206 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

and in every part of the Republic ; the sinking of thousands
of boat loads in the Loire ; the shooting of thousands by
pairs at Lyons and elsewhere, the murdering of thousands
under the forms of law by the guillotine, all is heaped upon
Robespierre, with as much apparent detestation as every
friend to humanity has really felt at these transactions.
A system of moderation has been pursued by the present
ruling party. Very few have suffered by the guillotine.
The commissioners in the several Departments have con
ducted themselves with lenity and endeavored to soothe
and conciliate. Great numbers have been liberated from
prison. The Convention has ordered that those remaining
under arrest shall be immediately tried or discharged ;
the disposition for mercy seems even extending to the
wretched emigrants themselves, and though always ex-
cepted from the terms of capitulation granted to the several
garrisons taken by the French troops, yet in one or two
late instances they have not been put to immediate death.1

But the violent party are far from being crushed. In the
Convention it still struggles, and by the Jacobins and most
of the popular Societies it is still supported. A rupture
between the Convention and the Jacobins has widened so
much that it must before long come to a crisis. Such is
the succession of anarchical factions which alternately
bear sway in the center, while at the borders all the armies
of the Republic, with a combination of order and enthu
siasm, of severe discipline and irresistible impetuosity,
pass from victory to victory, and have almost laid the whole
alliance of their enemies prostrate at the feet of the Con
vention.

Britain however yet retains every appearance of contin-

1 The situation of parties after the death of Robespierre is given in Cambridge
Modern History, VIII. 378.

i794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 207

ued hostility, and although the most determined parti
sans of the ministry venture to sigh openly for peace, yet
no man of any description appears to expect it. The war
to every outward appearance is still popular, and the ad
ministration since the Duke of Portland's admission to it
is said to be strong beyond all former example.

But the reins of government have been drawn so tight
here that it would not be surprising if they should break.
Thirteen persons arc to be tried for high treason the next
week. You will probably see in some of the late papers
the indictment upon which they have this day (October 25)
been arraigned. The trials are expected to take up a month
and there is much more agitation in the public mind upon
the subject than appears. Loyalty at this moment is strong
and yet it is in terror. Opposition gnashes its teeth, but
is silent or joins in the general cry. Suspicion, jealousy
and a want of mutual confidence, betray themselves in the
conduct and conversation of every one. These things are
not heard, they are not seen, they can only be felt. In short
the present state of society' in this land of freedom has al
most every mark of a severe despotism. But it is certainly
an unnatural state of temper to this people and it cannot
continue long. A gentleman * conversing with me yester
day upon the approaching trials said, ''The treason is vio
lently constructive, but it will do for this time. I expect
the prisoners will be found guilty. Hampden was found
guilty, so were Russell and Sidney, so was Sacheverell, but
it was remembered afterwards" I have heard nothing like
this said by any Englishman (the gentleman I speak of is
an American), but I have seen many who I believe think
as much or more.

1 Edmund Jennings. The conversation is given in greater detail in Adams,
Memoirs, I. 53.

208 THE WRITINGS OF [i794

As to the war, excepting their naval successes they have
only shared in the defeats of their allies, who are now all
upon the point of leaving them. France will probably
have the terms of peace with them all at her own disposal,
and will then turn all her attention towards the sea. At
this moment there is said to be a fleet of twenty-seven ships
of the line at sea from Brest, about 100 leagues west of Scilly ;
ninety frigates have been built since the beginning of this
year. They have ten thousand British seamen now prison
ers in France, and they will not exchange a man of them.
The deficiency of men here for the navy is of course pro
digious, and even the fleet under Lord Howe is not half
manned. It is however just gone to sea again, and another
action, as terrible as that on the first of June,1 may be fought
before the close of the year.

But for the future in this war every advantage seems to
be on the side of France. Their numbers are inexhaustible,
and the loss of ten thousand men has no other effect than
that of calling out myriads more. Everything that can be
the subject of human possession belongs to the nation, and
this maxim is most thoroughly reduced to practice. Of
every species of property and of human life their prodigality
exceeds the bounds of imagination itself. They have no
commerce to lose. They have a most inveterate animosity
against this nation, and above all they have to establish
upon the sea a reputation to bear a parallel with that of
their armies upon the land.

On the other hand the resources of Britain are compara
tively small. They will not want money. There does not
appear the smallest suspicion of a deficiency on that score,
and it is everywhere agreed that at this moment the Minis
ter might command it to any amount. But their want of

1 The engagement between Howe and Villaret-Joyeuse.

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 209

seamen is without a remedy, and must increase greatly even
by the most brilliant victories. Their commerce suffers
severely, and the moment they lose their naval superiority
must be annihilated. Strongly as they are bent upon the
success of the war, and inveterate as they always are against
the French, they have not that enthusiasm which in France
has levelled all the boundaries of private property, and put
the whole mass of physical force in the nation into the
hands of the government. They contend with an enemy
whom repeated defeats will not discourage, but who would
be irresistible after a single victory. In short, Sir, the situa
tion of this country, external and internal, appears to be
perilous, and its prospects gloomy in the extreme.

But I have already spun my letter to an immeasurable
length, and will ask for no more of your time now except
to assure you that I remain, with every sentiment of duty
and affection, your son.

P.S. Instead of thirteen persons to be tried for high
treason I find upon further inquiry only nine; and instead
of twenty-seven ships of the line now at sea from Brest,
there are but fourteen. I had this last fact from an American
captain who fell in with them.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 3 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, November 2d, 1794.
SIR :

I left London on the twenty-eighth ultimo, and arrived
here on the 3ist, at night.1

In the course of the present week I expect to have my

1 He put up at the "Keyzer's Hoff," but on the 4th moved to the "Heeren Loge-
mcnt."

P

210 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

audience of the States. The Stadtholder is at Nimeguen,
or with the army.

The outward aspect of this country is not that of a nation
invaded by a powerful and victorious army. From Hel-
voetsluys to this place, a distance of about twenty of our
miles, everything wears the appearance of peace and tran-
quility.

At Amsterdam everything is also quiet. Mr. Van Stap-
horst and five others of the deputation from the subscribers
of the petition against the inundations, etc., have escaped
and fled. Mr. Visscher and four or five more are imprisoned
on the same account. Three or five thousand troops have
been introduced into the city, as a check upon the disposi
tions of the people, and for the present the government
there meets with no resistance or opposition.

But in the meantime the French armies continue to ad
vance, and the allied armies to retreat. The Duke of York
after his defeat on the I9th [October] abandoned Nimeguen,
and retired to Arnheim across the Waal and the Rhine.
Since then, however, the French have been repulsed with
considerable loss in an attack before Nimeguen. It is
confidently asserted that the Duke of Brunswick is immedi
ately expected to take the command of the allied armies
and the Duke of York is to serve under him.

As to Maestricht there is a report that it has capitulated,
and another that the French have also been defeated there.
Venlo has certainly capitulated.1 The human force which
the allies can at this time oppose against the progress of the
French troops is not competent to answer the end, but the
season is now far advanced, it becomes very rainy and un
healthy, so that possibly the armies of both parties will be
obliged to go into winter q darters.

1 Venlo capitulated October 25.

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 211

The probability that the French will penetrate to Amster
dam this season is, I think, not quite so great as it appeared
to be three weeks since. And if there should be a respite
of two or three months from the war, the interval will
doubtless be very busily employed in negotiation.

Mr. Fagel is gone to London from hence upon a mission,
the purpose of which is said to be to demonstrate to the
British Ministry the absolute necessity of negotiating a
peace, and to give them notice that unless they will join in it,
the Hollanders must attempt it separately.1

On the other hand Lord Spencer and Mr. Grenville have
returned from Vienna, having as is said totally failed in the
object of their mission, which was to prevail upon the Em
peror to continue the war with vigor for the recovery of his
own dominions, and to offer him a subsidy of five millions
sterling for the purpose. I suppose all this to be conjectural,
for the object of those negotiations in both instances is not
public.2

1 Henri Fagcl (1765-1838) followed William V into exile, and after 1783 was Dutch
ambassador to London. George III looked upon Fagel's mission as futile, as
evidence of the want of energy on the part of the Prince of Orange. The Duke
of York wrote that he was in every instance thwarted by the people he was trying to
save, and the combined army complained of the unkindness they experienced from
the Dutch on all occasions, and the want of preparations for defence. The English
government yielded to the inevitable, but advised Holland to make such a peace
with France as should secure the independence of the Republic and its present
constitution and form of government. Hist. Jifss. Com., Fortfscuf .I///., II. 644,
64^>.

• Lord Spencer and Thomas Grenville had been sent in July to Vienna to urge
Austria to greater efforts in furnishing troops, to change her general of the army,
and to concert measures for the protection of the Dutch frontier; also to ascertain
what subsidy was needed to enable Austria to prosecute the war vigorously for
two campaigns. The mission proved fruitless, as it was neutralized by the sending
of Count de Merci from Vienna to London about the same time, where he died
August 25, without accomplishing any of his objects, and Austrian jealousy of
Prussia could not be overcome. A loan of six millions was demanded of the English —

212 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

What will not admit of any doubt is, that the allies, as
is usual among partners that play a losing game, are dissatis
fied with one another ; nor is there any present appearance
that their armies will cooperate with any sort of cordiality
the ensuing season in case the war should continue.

Five of the Provinces here have declared for negotiating
a peace separately, the other two no doubt will follow. But
what kind of peace can they expect to obtain from France
under the present circumstances ?

The Patriotic party have no centre of union ; they dare
have but little communication together, and I apprehend
there is no plan for their operations concerted by any con
siderable number of them.

From the few observations I have been able to make
hitherto I imagine they have no desire of peace at present.
Their animosity against the Stadtholder and the Regencies l
is so great, that they would rather submit to the French as
conquerors, than make peace with them as friends by the
means of their present government. The inveteracy of the
parties against each other is even greater than I expected,
and if a revolution of the ruling power should take place,
it is to be feared that humanity will suffer severely under
the operation.

The expectation of the Patriots is, that if the French
should succeed, their private property will be respected.
Many of them suppose no doubt that a discrimination will
be made between them and the adverse party, and as France
declared war only against the Stadtholder and his adherents,
the nation will fraternize with all those who were before that
time and have continued to be their implacable enemies.

double what the English ministers offered. The two envoys left Vienna in October.
Grenville's letters to his brother are in Hist. Mss. Com., Fortescue Mss., II.

1 Prussia and Great Britain had controlled the policy of Holland since the revo
lution of 1787, which reinstated the Stadtholder through their agency.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 213

Private property has, indeed, hitherto been left untouched
by the French in the places which they have conquered, and
the only complaint of the people who have submitted to them
has been the compulsive circulation of assignats in payment
for whatever they purchase. Should this system be pur
sued, and the conquest of this country be completed, a
total revolution of the government and even of the Con
stitution here seems to be inevitable. But whether the
Provinces will be annexed to the French Republic or left
to form a new government for themselves, to be in alliance
with France, no person here appears to have formed an
opinion whereupon to found a rational expectation.

As this event might place me in a very embarrassing situa
tion, I am anxiously desirous of receiving eventual instruc
tions to regulate my conduct in either of the cases which have
got so far within the limits of probability.

Should this country become a dependence of the French
Republic, my mission will of course be terminated by the
extinction of the nation itself to which I am sent. Should
it continue an independent Republic, but under a different
form of government and constitution from that to which
I am accredited, my functions authorized by the credentials
and instructions which I now bear would, of course, be sus
pended.1 It is impossible to anticipate what species of author
ity may rise, instead of that which has hitherto governed
this people. But it will be a great relief to my own mind,
and possibly may be of service to the public, if I can be pre
pared for either of those events I have mentioned, by know
ing whether it is the pleasure of the President, that I should
consider them as a termination of my Commission, and
implying a permission to me to return home, or that I

1 Adams had consulted Jay on the conduct to pursue in Holland, and the con
versation is given in Aftmoirs, October 28, 1794.

2i4 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

should remain here and wait for his express orders, subse
quent to his knowledge of these occurrences.

I have not yet received an answer from our bankers 1
to the letter which I wrote them from London and am there
fore still ignorant of the fate of the loan for 800,000 dollars
for which they were commissioned. I shall write them again
immediately, and as soon as I have obtained my admission
here intend going to Amsterdam myself. In the meantime,
I remain etc.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 4 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, November 5, 1794.
SIR :

Yesterday I wrote a card to Mr. Van Hees, the agent
of their High Mightinesses, requesting him to appoint a time
when it would be convenient to him to receive a visit from
me, and giving him notice of the commission and credentials
which I have the honor to bear. He appointed an hour this
morning, when I called accordingly, and desired him to in
form me what measures I must take in order to obtain my
reception. He told me the customary course was to pay
a visit to the weekly president of their High Mightinesses,
and deliver my credentials to him, who would on the same
day communicate them to the States General, and they

1 Willinks, Van Staphorst, and Hubbard. March 20, 1794, Congress, in making
an appropriation of a million dollars for the expenses attending the intercourse
of the United States with foreign nations, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury
to borrow the whole or any part of the sum. In July Hamilton authorized this
Amsterdam firm to negotiate in any part of Europe a loan for $800,000, that
amount being deemed urgent and necessary should a certain contingency arise.
Adams found that the credit of the United States stood higher than that of other
powers. In December, 1794, the four per cents were quoted at ten above par, and
the five's at par.

1794) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 215

would pass a resolution to acknowledge me in the character
with which I am vested. "But (added he) I must observe
to you, Sir, that Mr. Short has not yet taken leave of their
High Mightinesses." I told him that when Mr. Short went
to Madrid it was under the expectation of returning here,
but that the United States having further occasion for his
services in Spain, the President had now appointed him to
reside there ; that I had been the bearer of his letters of re
call to their High Mightinesses, and had already sent them
to him, as it was judged by the American government most
consistent with propriety that they should be transmitted
to the States General by himself. The Agent acquiesced
in this idea, and said he believed there were some prece
dents conformable to this mode of procedure. That I might
therefore be immediately admitted and deliver Mr. Short's
letters of recall, when I should receive them from him.

He said it was also customary, immediately after deliver
ing the credentials to the weekly president, to leave a copy of
them with the Greffier ; but as he was now absent, the com
munication might be made to the Commis or clerk of their
High Mightinesses. And after the acknowledgment it
would be proper to give notice of it to the diplomatic char
acters here by visiting cards.

November 6. This morning I waited on Mr. Van ImhofT,
the President for the week, and delivered to him my creden
tials, which he said he should not fail to communicate to
their High Mightinesses this forenoon. I then went to see
Mr. Lelyvelt, the Commis of the States, and left the copy
with him, the Greffier, Mr. Fagel, being absent. He told
me that the resolution for my acknowledgment would not
be passed till tomorrow, or the day after. That their High
Mightinesses received communications only in three lan
guages, viz. the Dutch, the French and the Latin. That

216 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

as my credentials are in English, they must undergo a trans
lation before they can be read in the Assembly, which would
occasion this delay of a day or two.

November 8. Mr. Van Hees, the Agent, called and in
formed me that the President of the week having communi
cated to their High Mightinesses the letter of credence from
the United States, which I had delivered to him, they had
passed a resolution, the purport of which he repeated, but
so rapidly and in so low a voice that I could not particularly
understand it. He said the Resolution was not yet reduced
to writing, but as soon as it should be, he would send it to
me. The amount of it is to acknowledge me in the character
conferred on me by the President, and the proceeding is no
doubt according to the usual forms.1

November 10. I received from the Agent of their High
Mightinesses the resolution relative to my reception, a copy
and translation of which I inclose herewith.

November n. You will observe by the Resolution of
their High Mightinesses that an audience, either in the
Assembly of the States or by Commissioners to be appointed
for the purpose, is left at my election. I called this morn
ing upon the Agent Van Hees to inquire, which of these
alternatives had been chosen by my predecessor. He
assured me that they were both mere formalities which were
always dispensed with, except on particular and extraordi
nary occasions, and had been so in the case of Mr. Short.
That by the transmission of this resolution my reception
and acknowledgment were completed, and if I had any
communication to make for the future, the person with

xThe second paragraph of this resolution reads: "Whereupon, after delibera
tion it was found good and understood hereby to declare, that the said Mr. John
Quincy Adams is agreeable (aangenaam) to their High Mightinesses, and that he
shall be acknowledged in the aforesaid quality of minister," etc.

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 217

whom my official correspondence is to be maintained is the
Greffier, and if I should have memorials to present, they are
to be delivered to the weekly President.

I am fearful, Sir, that this minute detail of forms may
appear tedious and perhaps trivial. But in these countries
they are so much in the habit of annexing importance to ac
curacy in these particulars, and I have felt so much the want
of information as to the mode of proceeding in this respect,
that I thought it might at least save trouble upon some future
occasion to have the regular process of reception trans
mitted to the Department over which you preside. I hope
this consideration will apologize for the intrusion of a letter
so very uninteresting as the present upon your perusal.1

I have the honor to be with sentiments of the highest
respect, Sir, your humble and obedient servant.

1 To Short he wrote, November 21, 1794: "I have been unable to obtain neces
sary information even upon the subject of formalities. I have been obliged, there
fore, to grope in the dark as well as I could, and depend altogether upon the in
formation of the Agent of the States. The diplomatic visits, he told me, were
usually rendered by cards, so that I have not yet been made acquainted even with
the members of that corps. The Prince's secretary is incapacitcd by old age,
performs none of his functions, and I was necessitated to be my own introductor,
to deliver my credentials to his Highness. Nothing so despicable, and nothing
so indispensable as the science of forms." Three weeks later he was called upon
to determine a question of form. I lis instructions contained the following clause:
"As you have a right to correspond with the ministry of the nation near which you
reside in your own language, you will not lose this advantage." Having occasion
to present a memorial and a request to the High Mightinesses, he prepared them in
English and delivered them in person to the President of that body. That officer
in receiving them noted the fact that English was used, but said he would lay them
before the States General. But Lelyvcld attempted to return them to Adams on
the ground that they violated a rule constantly observed by all the foreign ministers.
Adams at first refused to receive them, asserting that they had already been ac
cepted by the President, and that he could not use another language without
authority from his superiors, from whom he had received his instructions. Lely-
veld insisting, the matter was settled by his taking the position that the papers
had never been offered, and Adams, to secure justice and avoid unnecessary dis-

2i 8 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 5 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, November 7, 1794.
SIR:

By a letter, which I received since I wrote you last, I
am informed that the bankers of the United States have
done nothing as Commissioners for the loan of 800,000 dol
lars, not having received from Colonel Humphreys the notice
which they were instructed to wait for previous to their act
ing under this commission. They add, that under the present
circumstances the loan would be altogether impracticable,
and they cannot foresee when it will again be feasible. Of
all this they have no doubt given information to you, and
to the Secretary of the Treasury.

In my letter of the 2nd instant I have mentioned the
mutual dissatisfaction which has for some time prevailed
among the allied powers, and I have before noticed the re
ports of a separate peace made by the King of Prussia.
This fact seems at present to be put beyond a doubt, as the
name of the minister who signed the Treaty on the part of
Prussia appears in the papers of this day.

cussion, turned them into French. Randolph wrote to Adams, February 25, 1795 :
"You have judged right in supposing that the President could not be so tenacious
of the advantage of corresponding in your own tongue, as to violate established
forms. Certainly the supreme authority of a country must be submitted to in
things of this kind. Nor is it expected, that you should persist in the right of using
your own language even with the ministers, if it is likely to be unacceptable. The
French minister here corresponds in French, the Spanish minister in Spanish, the
Portuguese minister has been left at liberty to use the Portuguese, but practises
the French, and the Dutch minister writes in French. The instruction to use
your own was founded on caution; but was never considered as indispensable."
The rule governing the diplomatic representatives of the United States is to employ
the English language in formal written communications to the governments to
which they are accredited. See Adams, Memoirs, IV. 327.

i794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 219

Spain has also sent a minister to Paris to negotiate a
peace, and two ministers on the part of the Empire are
employed for the same purpose, one in Switzerland, and the
other is said to be now at Paris. It seems to be an opinion
prevalent here, as well as in England, which I mentioned
in my first letter from thence, that the French Republic
will be disposed to grant moderate terms to all the allies
except Great Britain, and as the system of moderation ap
pears to be obtaining increasing ascendancy in the National
Convention and throughout the Republic, the probability
that England and France will be alone engaged at the open
ing of the ensuing campaign daily strengthens.

As to this country, it is well known to you, Sir, how close
a political connection has been maintained between its
government and that of Great Britain since the Revolution
here in the year 1787. But a connection still closer has
subsisted with Prussia, which is cemented by the ties of
blood between the consorts of the Stadtholdcr and of the
hereditary Prince of Orange,1 and the King of Prussia, the
former being his sister and the latter his daughter. Hitherto
the British and Prussian influence here has been exerted in
perfect union, but after this peace made by Prussia I think
it it impossible they should long continue to harmonize.

The Court of St. James will no doubt be very much dis
satisfied with that of Berlin, for making this peace, and a
coolness between them must I think ensue. The Prussian
influence here must be favorable to peace between this
Republic and France, to which Great Britain cannot cer
tainly consent.

But in the present situation of things in this country,
peace has become an object of urgent necessity to the govern
ing power here. They imagine and perhaps not without

1 The wife of the Hereditary Prince was Frederick-Louisa-Wilhelmina, of Prussia.

220 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

foundation, that their existence depends upon their obtain
ing it. And for the very same reason the Patriots do not
appear desirous for peace at all. They had rather submit
to an external enemy than bear a yoke, in their minds more
intolerable, of what they call internal oppression. I do not
give this sentiment as that of the whole Patriotic party,
who are far, very far from being united in their own politics.
I cannot even pretend to say how extensive this temper may
be, but from my observations hitherto, I cannot doubt but
that numbers here would rather see the conquest of their
country completed by the French, than a peace made by
them with the government now established here.

If therefore the French Republic will consent to terms of
accommodation with the Stadtholder and the States Gen
eral, upon condition that they shall abandon their alli
ance with Great Britain, the personal interest of the House
of Orange and of the members of the States will dictate to
them an acquiescence in the measure. The continuance
of the war threatens immediate and total destruction to
them, and it is not in the power of their ally, now they
are abandoned by Prussia, and are like to be deserted
by the Empire, to defend them. Example is epidemical
among nations, no less than among individuals, and in
this instance the court of Berlin will think itself justified
by the imitation, and that of the Hague deem itself author
ized by the precedent.

The mission of Mr. Fagel to London is supposed to be
upon this subject. But if his object is to agree upon a
joint negotiation, there does not appear any possibility
that this proposal will produce any effect.
i The present British Ministry cannot with any consistency
negotiate, and there is no present prospect of a change in
the Administration. If this difficulty should be removed,

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 221

another more insurmountable would occur, if the general
opinion be well founded, that the Convention will not ne
gotiate upon any terms with Great Britain. Whether this
disposition, if it really exists, will continue for any length of
time, it is impossible to say. It is founded upon the extreme
animosity against the British, which prevails at this time in
France. But the public sentiment is in its own nature very
fluctuating. National passions subside when the objects
which excited them are removed. The character of the
French people, however susceptible of ardent resentment,
is far from being implacable, and the transition in the public
mind from the most virulent hatred to indifference, and
even to good will, often takes place with surprising rapidity.
A peace, therefore, even between these two mighty rivals
before the opening of the spring, may possibly take place,
but cannot be rationally expected in the present state of
things.

If then the perseverance of Britain, or the resentment of
France, should effectually preclude a general pacification,
will the government of this country negotiate a separate
peace ? In answer to this question I can only say that their
external enemies are victorious, and if the war continues
will in every probability be irresistible : that their internal
disunion gives a strong hold to their invaders, even in the
heart of their country; and that the question remaining
for them is between an unpleasant peace and total ruin. If
self preservation be to political bodies an obligation para
mount to every other law, compact or stipulation, it can
hardly be expected that the present alliance will be an in
superable obstacle to a separate peace between the two
Republics.

The French have hitherto made no distinction between the
different partizans in the places where they have obtained

222 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

possession. The Stadtholderians and Patriots share the
same treatment, and no alteration is made in the general
order of things. These circumstances serve to strengthen
the hopes of peace, while the dissensions between the Allies
strengthen the desire for it.

The English troops discriminate as little as the French.
They have made themselves equally obnoxious to all parties,
and plunder and illtreat the Stadtholderians as much as the
Patriots. A gentleman professedly of the governing party
told me the people were much more afraid of the English
than of the French, and after a variety of other observations
expressive of his fears exclaimed, Peace ! Peace ! We must
have Peace ! The violence and misconduct of the British
troops is a fact established beyond a question by a public
proclamation issued by the Duke of York, which you will
doubtless have seen in the late British papers. I have there
fore not scrupled to mention it as a cause of complaint in
the mouth of everyone here. As to the additional charges
brought against them, implying a want of spirit as well as
of conduct in them, and the imputation of their propensity
to retreat, as well as the reports injurious to the imperitorial
character of the Commander-in-Chief himself, representing
him as indulging more in convivial pleasures than the ex
treme delicacy of his present situation renders proper, or
the rigid severity of Dutch austerity deems decorous, I
must consider all this as unwarranted scandal, which how
ever prevalent may be altogether groundless, and only
proves that the allies are very much dissatisfied with one
another.

The Duke of Brunswick is hourly expected to take the
command and his arrival is ardently desired by those who
think the system of resistance still practicable.

The appearance of internal opposition to the government

1794) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 223

is entirely quelled for the present. Mr. Van Staphorst is at
Hamborough, out of the reach of this jurisdiction. Mr.
Visschcr is closely confined, and the subscribers to the peti
tion I have more than once mentioned to you have suffered
themselves to be disarmed without resistance.

November 8. Mr. Van Hees the agent of their High
Mightinesses called on me, to give me notice that they had
passed a resolution to acknowledge me in my public charac
ter. After which I asked him whether there was any in
telligence from the armies. Nimeguen he answered was
heavily bombarded by the last accounts from thence, which
were of yesterday. The news from Maastricht lie said was
very bad. "It is pretended," said he, "that it capitulated
on the 4th." I suppose therefore there is no doubt of the
fact. I told him that probably the campaign must soon
terminate. "It must come to an end soon somehow or
other," said he. "What can be done when the allies aban
don us ?" I asked him if the King of Prussia had certainly
made peace ? "So it is said, but the letters from Berlin deny
it." What ? The latest letters from thence. Generally,
the letters from Berlin. He did not chuse, therefore, to
answer my question as to the latest letters, yet the inference
is not absolutely conclusive that they have letters from
thence confirming the fact.

I hope we shall soon have some agreeable intelligence from
our own country. The western insurrection has a most
disagreeable effect upon the credit and reputation of America.
A thousand exaggerations of the fact are propagated with
great avidity, our friends know not what to deny, the malev
olence of our enemies is gratified, and the advocates of
universal freedom and humanity are afraid of losing the
only country for which they can appeal for the practicability
of their theories. I hope we shall soon relieve them from

224 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

their alarms, and shew them once more the perfect image
of united liberty and submission.

With every sentiment of respect I remain, Sir, your very
humble and obedient servant.

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, November 9, 1794.
MY DEAR SIR :

Under the present circumstances of affairs in this country,
I did not think it prudent to make any unnecessary delay
in England, and accordingly left London of the 28th of last
month. Our passage to Helvoet was short though not
agreeable, the packet being very much crowded with
passengers. We were only three days from London to this
place.

I had been told in London that I should perceive fewer
symptoms of war in this country than I should leave behind
me there ; but I had no idea of finding everything so per
fectly quiet as it is. Excepting the course of conversation
in company, you would imagine yourself to be in a land
blessed with a profound peace. No confusion, no agitation,
no aggregations in the streets, no appearance of exertion.
I had almost said no symptom from any part of the people
of feeling an interest in the fate of their country. You
remember, Sir, how feeble the efforts of this people were
when their war broke out with England in 1781. Yet at
that time the active spirit of liberty predominated. Patriot
ism was the popular idol, and the power which upon the
whole governed the country rested much for its support
upon the motives of public spirit. But now that the reins
of government are held by a power, professedly founded
upon mere force, a power which has always been at war with

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 225

public spirit and considered patriotism as its deadly enemy,
which has always dreaded enthusiasm and discountenanced
the amour sacre de la patrie, you may judge what a state of
lifeless imbecility characterizes the people, even at a moment
so full of danger and dismay as the present.

The Government meets with no internal resistance. The
appearance of opposition lately made at Amsterdam, has
been completely crushed, and the petitioners have tamely
delivered up their arms at command. Van Staphorst has
fled, and is safe at Hamburg. Visscher is in close confine
ment, and patriotism is again compelled to hide its head.
This people I fear have lost that energy of character which
once so honourably distinguished them. Had there been
a common share of spirit displayed by the petitioners at
Amsterdam, the consequences I am informed would have
been extremely different; but it was a struggle between
weakness and impotence, in which the former can scarcely
be said to have obtained the victory, though the latter was
certainly defeated.

But passive obedience and non-resistance are one thing;
and the warm, animated zeal, which is necessary for the
defence of an invaded country, the dauntless heart and the
nervous arm, which inspired and directed by the enthusiasm
of liberty have heretofore performed miracles for the salvation
of this as well as of other countries, are another. The strength
of the government is sufficient to control the inclinations of
their adversaries within their walls, but it can hope nothing
from their assistance. It can paralyze their limbs, but cannot
arm them in its defence.

They have to contend with enemies of a very different
description, with armies powerful in numbers, under the
most perfect discipline, of uncontrolable impetuosity, and
who pursue to the utmost every advantage they obtain.

Q

226 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

There is another circumstance which has added to the
extreme debility which has characterized the defence of their
frontier against the present invasion. The length of time
elapsed since this country has been before engaged in a war
by land has removed all the officers of martial experience
from their troops, but especially from the command of their
fortified towns. The usual system of patronage and pro
tection has conferred most of these places as sinecures upon
favorites, and in the distribution of the places military merit
has been deemed the most unnecessary and useless of all
qualifications in the officer to be provided for. The benefit
of the individual was the only consideration of importance,
for as to the service required, where is the cowardice or
stupidity that can be inadequate to the mere parade of a
military government in time of peace ?

But however suitable the post may be to the officer in
peace, it seems the officer turns out very unsuitable to
the post in war. So that when the day of trial comes, one
commander resigns on account of his health ; another finds
himself incapable to maintain his station from his old age.
A third contrives means to be disgusted at some paltry
pretence for taking offence ; and a fourth without ceremony
surrenders as soon as his command is invested. I am told
that all these things have really happened, and the most
bitter execrations are vented against the Prince of Hesse,
the late governor of Bois le Due, for capitulating as he did.
Treachery and cowardice are both very liberally imputed
to him by the partisans of this government, but I know not
with how much foundation. A momentary popular odium
is very often the lot of the best officer when unfortunate,
and at such a point of time the voice of the people is far
from being infallible. . . .

It is to me a new thing under the sun, to see a people

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 227

anxious to be conquered, and praying for the success of their
enemies ; though not indeed in the spirit of Christian hu
mility. This phenomenon now discovers itself more and
more to my view. Since my arrival here the intelligence
has been generally unfavorable to the allies. The king of
Prussia's peace is ascertained. Maestricht has capitulated,
and Nimeguen is severely bombarded ; at each of these
several articles of news I have seen more than one Dutch
man's eyes sparkle with pleasure, and I have observed coun
tenances to fall at the transient rumors of successful sallies
from both those towns, which have been invented and prop
agated to cheer the sinking spirits of the Orange party. . . .

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 6 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

AMSTERDAM, November 16, 1794.
SIR :

The Stadtholder returned to the Hague from Nimeguen
four days since. On the I4th I had the honor of an audience
from him and delivered my credentials, so that the forms of
my reception at this Court are finished.1

I came yesterday from the Hague to this city, where I
hope to have better means of obtaining information which
may be worthy of communication than I could at that
place.

In my last letter I mentioned the peace said to have been
made by the King of Prussia as a fact almost ascertained.
Since that it has again become more questionable, and at
present is even denied with great confidence. From various
symptoms however I still venture to speak of it as an event

1 "He was civil enough" is the entry in the Diary. An audience with the Prin
cess of Orange was given on December 4.

228 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

which, if it has not yet already taken place, may be expected
before spring.

Nimeguen has met with the same fate as Maestricht, or
rather with a worse, for it did not obtain a capitulation.
The British troops in evacuating the place did not retrieve
their character for good order and rigid discipline.

By the capture of Maestricht an army of thirty-five
thousand French troops is released to act elsewhere, and
Breda and Gertruydenberg are said to be menaced. The
whole number of the French troops who are now brought to
bear upon this country is about ninety thousand men. Of the
allies there are not more than thirty-five thousand to oppose
them. I know not of any defensible fortress to balance this
great inequality of numbers, and you can easily judge what
the event probably will be under circumstances like these.

The French troops I am just informed have already crossed
the Waal, at Tiel. Nimeguen did capitulate. A gentle
man just told me he saw the convention, consisting of three
articles. That a continuance of their customary rights and
privileges is stipulated for the inhabitants. The allied
troops evacuated the town and crossed the river previous
to the capitulation, leaving only 800 men behind, who could
not get over the river, the floating bridge having been burnt.
The troops that crossed were exceedingly harassed in their
passage, and met with great loss from the fire of their enemy.
The crisis of this country's fate is approaching with great
rapidity and peace, if they can obtain it, is become of despotic
necessity to them.

Upon my arrival here last evening Mr. Bourne called on
me, and told me he had just come from seeing General
Eustace,1 who had in the morning been arrested and had

1 John Skey Eustace, who had served as aid to Major-General Charles Lee in
the American War of Independence. See Lee Papers (New York Hist. Soc. Coll.) ;

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 229

his papers seized by order of the magistracy of this city,
that he was confined to his chamber with a guard over
him, and his papers had been sent to the Hague. Nothing
criminal had however been found among his papers, and he
expected to be released as soon as an order should be ob
tained from thence. That the General had served in the
French armies since the declaration of war between the two
Republics, but, upon receiving the Proclamation of the
President, declaring the neutrality of the United States,
had immediately resigned his command and withdrawn from
the service of France.

This morning a gentleman of this city, a friend of General
Eustace, called to see me, and requested me to interpose in
such manner as I should think proper in behalf of that
gentleman as a citizen of the United States. I told him that
as one of my fellow citizens that General was entitled to all
the good offices and assistance that I could render him, but
that no representation on my part would probably be of
any service to him, if he had forfeited his right to the privi
leges of the American neutrality by his engagements in the
French service. That I would endeavor to obtain permis
sion for access to him in his confinement, and would do every
thing to serve him in my power, consistent with propriety
and the obligation of my own duty.

Mr. Visscher and the five other persons arrested for their
concern in the remonstrance presented to the magistracy
have been sentenced to six years hard labor in the common
workhouse and perpetual banishment afterwards. The
workhouse is the customary place to which common male
factors are condemned.

It is said that the severity of this punishment was owing

Correspondence of French Ministers (Turner), 272; and Life and Correspondence
of Rufus King, II. 295.

230 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

to the representations of the British Ambassador, who
insisted upon it as satisfaction for the reflections contained
in the remonstrance against the British troops.

November ij. I wrote a card this morning to the officer
by whose command General Eustace was arrested, informing
him that this gentleman had demanded the benefit of the
treaties subsisting between this country and America, and
requesting an order for access to him. The officer appointed
this day at one o'clock for the purpose. And when I went
to the house according to the appointment I found he was
already released, though his papers are not yet returned to
him. They have apologized in some measure to him, and
the Grand Bailiff of this city gave as an excuse to me that
their suspicions had been grounded upon the General's hav
ing been so lately in the service of France.

Upon conversing with him afterwards I find that he has
never served in the French armies, since the war with this
country, and is therefore fully entitled to all the protection
that our treaties can afford him. He is irritated, as may
naturally be expected, at the treatment he has received,
and it is not improbable that you will hear from him upon
the subject in America.

I hear of an opportunity for Philadelphia which obliges
me to conclude for the present with the assurance that I
remain, with sentiments of invariable respect and consid
eration, Sir, your very humble and obedient servant.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 7 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

SIR: AMSTERDAM, November 19, 1794.

The opinion that a general peace will take place before the
opening of the spring is still very prevalent, though I do

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 231

not find any one who professes to believe it. The idea appears
to be only founded upon the absolute necessity which is
supposed to exist on the part of the combined powers to
finish the war.

With respect to this country, the letters which I have done
myself the honor to write you since my arrival here will
serve to shew the hopeless condition of the allies. I might
perhaps spare you the trouble of reading an annoying detail
of French success, which in all human probability must still
continue, until their own moderation shall dictate the terms
of their retreat, or the perseverance of their enemies to
maintain an impracticable opposition shall plant the stand
ard of the French Republic upon the walls of Amsterdam.

Britain, however, yet adheres inflexibly to the continu
ance of the war, and this determination fully coincides with
the wishes of the Patriotic party here. This extraordinary
concurrence is no doubt extremely embarrassing to the
government of the United Provinces, nor is it easy to con
ceive how they will extricate themselves from this critical
predicament. A continuance of the war they have reason
to expect will terminate in their utter destruction. A
separate peace with France would no doubt be humiliating
to them in the extreme, but it might at least serve to pro
long their existence, and it is to be remarked that the
declaration in favor of this measure originated first in
Zeeland, the Province where the power of the Stadtholder
is the most extensive and his influence the most universal.

The Patriots are very sanguine in the expectation that
France will make common cause with them, and will not
treat at all without the total expulsion of the Stadtholder.
But I confess I do not see at present upon what foundation
their expectation stands. If there were any concert between
them, it would necessarily be kept profoundly secret, and

232 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

it is therefore impossible to say that none actually exists.
I can only observe that I have not discovered anything upon
which a probability of such a circumstance can be raised,
and all the public appearances are against it.

France lately renewed the declaration, that she will not
interfere in the internal affairs of any other country. She
makes no distinction between the different partisans in the
places which have capitulated, nor does any particular
animosity against the House of Orange appear at present,
either in her public councils, or in her armies. So that a
peace between the French Republic and the present States
General does not appear to me to be an impossible event.

It is now said that the Duke of Brunswick has positively
refused the command of the allied army, or rather, that he
annexed such conditions to his acceptance as could not be
complied with. The dissatisfaction between the people of
this country and their English allies continually increases.
The complaints against the Commander-in-Chief become
more and more grievous from day to day. The nature of
them will be fully explained to you by the bearer of this
letter.

The intelligence of every kind relating to the war is only
to be gleaned from the private letters which arrive from the
invaded country. The Duke of York's1 defeat of the I9th
of last month, an account of which I wrote you from London,
was not publicly known at the Hague on my arrival there.
Every unfavorable event is suppressed as much as possible,
and the printers of public newspapers are suspended in
their employments for weeks and months together for pub
lishing simple facts, which happen to be disagreeable at
Court. The liberty of the press and, indeed, every other
species of liberty, are circumscribed within very narrow

1 Frederick (1763-1827), son of George III.

i794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 233

limits. Every traveller, as soon as he alights at an inn,
must declare in writing his name, his occupation, his place
of abode, whence he comes, where he is going, how long he
means to stay, and by whom he is known in this country.
General Eustace was arrested and had his papers seized,
because he was accidentally detained here a day or two
longer than he had thus signified his intention to remain.
The meeting of the British Parliament is to be next week,
and it is expected with much solicitude by the political
speculators. The Portuguese Minister at the Hague,1
happening to be here on a visit, as well as myself, and
lodging at the same house, called on me last evening. It is
hardly possible for a conversation at this time to turn upon
any other subject than the prospect of peace.2 He said he
did not see how it could take place, as long as England should
hold out. France had reconquered all her West India
Islands in Flanders, and she would not certainly restore her
conquests unless her own possessions should be restored
to her. Without the consent of England there could be no
return to the status quo, and England was not yet reduced to
the necessity of resigning her acquisitions. The King has
lately accepted the sovereignty of Corsica, which this
gentleman considers as a very important accession to the
British dominions, as facilitating very much their views for
the extension of their trade in the Levant, by giving them
a convenient port in the Mediterranean. This will be
another motive for the obstinacy of Britain to persist in the
war, and if she should become the sole combatant of France
she could wage the war, which in that case would become

1 Chevalier d'Araujo.

2 "The King of Prussia's peace turns out to be a stock jobbing or trading specu
lation. The Spanish peace I suppose must be the same. The error, however, is
only in chronology. It is only giving that as already done, which must be done
very soon." To William Short, November 21, 1794. Ms.

234 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

exclusively maritime, much more advantageously and with
better prospect of success than she does at present.

Speaking of the cause of complaint given by that power
to the neutral nations, I observed that the system in which
it originated was somewhat extraordinary. I found his
ideas upon the subject perfectly coincided with ours. "A
single town besieged/' said he, "may be reduced by famine.
The means may be within the power of the besiegers. The
operation is of partial effect. The inhabitants in general
suffer only the inconvenience of hunger, and the place
surrenders. But to pretend and attempt to starve twenty-
four millions of people, to cut off all the means of subsist
ence from a country situated like France, independent of
the moral complexion of such a design upon which there
is nothing to be said, it was merely on the point of prac
ticability a thing altogether new. He believed such a
design was never formed before, and on the score of policy
it was certainly the method to unite the whole force of
every individual in France against the allies, and to give
the national power an energy which nothing else could do
so effectually."

That plan is received almost universally in the same
light, and as Mr. Araujo says it is the first attempt of the
kind, so I think it will not very soon be again renewed. I
think however that precedents of this kind may be found in
the annals of British policy, and we were during the American
war indebted to them for a similar intention.

I this moment hear that an agreement for a temporary
cessation of hostilities until further order has been agreed
on by the officers of the contending armies on this and the
other side of the Waal. This is considered as a prelimi
nary to winter quarters, to be taken on both sides, of which
however I very much doubt. The weather grows cold, and

1794) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 235

a severe season is expected by everybody, though I know
not exactly why. The Stadtholderians tell us, it will be
favorable to them, as the French armies cannot keep the
field with hard weather in this climate in winter. The
Patriots say that the cold will only shut up the canals,
defeat the benefit of an inundation, and make the best
possible road for the French troops to march into Amster
dam. We shall soon see what foundation there is for all
or either of these opinions. I am, etc.

TO JAMES MONROE

AMSTERDAM, November 22, 1794.
SIR:

I received last evening from London the papers which
I now take the liberty to inclose, together with a letter from
Mr. Boylston,1 the gentleman who chartered the vessel 2
in question, and with whom I have had a long and valuable
acquaintance.

His letter states to me, and with obvious truth, that an
early as well as a favorable decision upon this case is of
vast importance to the interests of the United States ; that
in consequence of this capture an immediate rise of an
hundred per centum of the premium upon insurance of all
American ships took place, although it was already before
that time double the ordinary peace premium. There are
many other considerations which render any obstruction to
the facility of our returning commerce from Great Britain
at this time peculiarly injurious to us, and which you will
certainly be able to appreciate at their proper value.

Mr. Boylston estimates at nearly £700,000 sterling the

1 Ward Nicholas Boylston.

8 The brig Mary, Captain Titcomb.

236 THE WRITINGS OF [i794

annual burthen of extraordinary insurance to which our
commerce is subjected by this rise of premium. His cal
culation I think is not much too high, and it becomes an
object of the greater moment to the interest of our country,
as so large a proportion of our insurance is made in England ;
so that in its effects the principle of this capture operates
for the present to the detriment of the United States, for
the benefit of Great Britain.

I am well assured, Sir, that your zeal for the interests
of the United States in general, and for the security and
efficacy of their rights to all your fellow citizens individually,
is too ardent and active to be susceptible of any accession
from my solicitations. It would therefore be unnecessary,
though I hope it will not be improper for me to add, that in
the particular instance upon which I now address you my
feelings of private friendship coincide with my concern for
the public welfare. That the gentlemen to whom the prop
erty was addressed and belonged are all personally known
to me. That Mr. Gill is Lieutenant Governor of Massa
chusetts, and Messrs. Head and Amory are among the most
respectable citizens of Boston, and that in recommending
the case to your attention I follow the impulse of my incli
nation no less than the dictate of my duty.

I am happy, Sir, that this opportunity is given me to
return you my best acknowledgments for your kind offer
of a good understanding and correspondence between us, of
which my father informed me at the time when I had the
honor of being appointed to my present station. I should
have notified you of my arrival here before this but for the
interruption of the communication between France and this
country, consequent upon the present state of affairs.
When the regular intercourse shall again be restored I shall
feel myself honored by a correspondence as frequent and

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 237

considerable as may consist with propriety and the public
service. I am, etc.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 9 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

AMSTERDAM, November 24th, 1794.

I have made inquiry of several merchants concerned in
the American trade, whether there was any ground of com
plaint arising from the want of execution attending any
article of our treaty of commerce with their High Mighti
nesses ? 1 The general answer has been, that many em
barrassments, burthens and discouragements have been
laid upon our trade, and that there is real cause of com
plaint as to the fulfillment of the stipulations in the Treaty.
But in endeavoring to ascertain particulars I have hitherto
been unsuccessful.

The merchants of Amsterdam are remarkably averse from
communication relative to their trade. They are as evasive
in answering any questions either as to its principles or its
details as if they were all ministers of State, and although
I have met with abundance of dissatisfaction with the
oppression of our commerce, I have in vain requested and
even solicited a particular statement of its grievances. It
has been indeed promised from more than one quarter, and
I am yet not without hopes of obtaining it, though I have
hitherto been disappointed in my expectations.

As far however as I have been able to procure informa
tion as to the foundation of the complaint it is upon two
grounds. The one arising from the recent prohibition of
sundry articles from exportation, and the other from the

»That of 1782.

238 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

perception in some cases of heavier duties upon the American
navigation than upon that of the most favored nation.
With respect to the first they say, it is a direct violation of
the article in the treaty upon the subject of contraband.1
I have never considered, however, that this article, which
under different modifications is common to almost all
treaties of commerce, implied a surrender of the contracting
parties of their right to prohibit in cases of emergency the
exportation of articles which become of the first necessity
for their own use. I have however requested a list of the
articles which have lately been thus prohibited ; but the
gentlemen who are the most discontented with the prohibi
tion, and who at first promised me such a list, have since
excused themselves from it, observing that at this critical
moment, while the government itself is in so dangerous and
precarious a situation, they think it would be most advis
able to postpone any representations upon this point, and
wait for more quiet and peaceable times. The only articles
I have heard mentioned in conversation are gunpowder and
alum. I have been promised also a copy of a petition
lately presented by the merchants concerned in our trade
to the States General upon this subject. Perhaps some
further information will result from the perusal of that.
At present I can only say in general terms that the exporta
tion of several articles of merchandise has lately been pro
hibited from hence, that American vessels have not been
excepted from the effect of this prohibition, and that the
merchants in our trade complain of it as a grievance.

The difference between the duties to which our commerce
and that of the most favored nation are severally subject,

1 Article XXIV. Monroe was raising in France questions of a like import upon
the two articles of the treaty of 1778 governing neutral trade and contraband —
articles XXIII and XXIV. Writings of James Monroe, II. 41, 101.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 239

appears to me more liable to a demand on our part for the
enjoyment of the stipulation contained in the treaty. It is
known to you, Sir, that for many years there has been in
this country a chartered West India Company. They had
a certain jurisdiction by virtue of which all the duties laid
upon the commerce with the West Indies were made payable
to them instead of the Admiralty, and in many instances
there is a difference between the impositions upon the same
articles imported under the two different administrations.
Previous to our Revolution the trade with North America
was comprehended within the jurisdiction of the West
India Company, which at that time was more favorable
to the commerce than if it had been within that of the
Admiralty. At the expiration of the Company's charter a
few years since, they made a bankruptcy, and surrendered
all their affairs into the hands of a committee of the States
General, to whom all their rights and powers are thus
transferred. The commerce of the United States, however,
continues upon the same footing on which it stood while
they were British colonies, and by its connection with the
privileges of the West India Company is subjected to much
heavier impositions than it would be at the Admiralty,
especially upon the article of spices. For since the partici
pation we have obtained in the carrying trade, in consequence
of our own and the French Revolutions, our commerce with
this country has become a very different thing from what it
was in the days of our subjection, and its dependence upon
the charter of the West India Company, which was then
much to its advantage, is now converted into a heavy burthen
by exposing it to the charges of a greater tax than is levied
upon the navigation of other nations in the carriage of the
same articles.

The merchants in our trade consider this as altogether

240 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

inconsistent with the article of the treaty which places us
upon the level of the most favored nation. I think so too,
unless we have submitted to it by express agreement, which
is said by one gentleman with whom I have conversed upon
the subject to be the case. I have not yet got from Eng
land the books which I took from America, and have not
an opportunity of consulting the treaties at present. I have
thought it my duty to acquaint you at any rate with the
circumstances, and shall equally forward any further in
formation as it shall come to my own knowledge.

November 2$th. The British Parliament is prorogued
again till the thirty-first of December, and the funds rose
in consequence of that measure two or three per cent. The
prorogation is received as a portent of negotiations for a
general peace. On the other hand the National Convention
have appointed two commissioners to be employed upon
business under the direction of the Committee of Public
Safety, but secret even to the Convention itself. These
facts combined with the capture of Nimeguen and Maes-
tricht, the subsequent inaction of the armies on both sides,
and Mr. FageFs mission to London, all strengthen the
expectation of peace.

The Insurrection of Poland appears once more to be
subdued. After a succession of severe defeats and the
capture of Kosciuszko x and his successor in command,
Warsaw has capitulated. The public sentiment even in
England and this country was generally favorable to the
cause of the Poles, but the destiny of that unhappy people
must be completed.

An occurrence of a different complexion is that La Fayette
has made his escape from prison, together with two compan
ions one of whom however was retaken. This intelligence

1 At Maciejowice, October 10. The Russians entered Warsaw November 8.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 241

comes from very good authority by a letter from Breslau
to a gentleman in this city.

A cockade with the word Egalite marked upon it is cir
culated among the patriots in this city, who do not yet
venture however to wear it. This is a symptom of an under
standing with the invading nation and of a concert among
themselves in the party here which, though trivial in itself,
is more strongly marked than any other that has reached
me.1 I have the honor, etc.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 10 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, December 2, 1794.
SIR :

In my last letter I informed you of the opinion that was
gaining ground in public, that a peace would be speedily
effected, and of the occurrences generally known upon which
that opinion was founded. Its prevalence was in no respect
more distinguishable than in its different effects upon the
spirits of the two parties in this country. The countenances
of the Orangists and of the Patriots had undergone a recip
rocal change. Their conversation betrayed symptoms of
the same revolution. From the dejection of impotence and
despair, the formerly suddenly assumed a degree of confi
dence and assurance as great as victory itself could have
inspired, and some of them with a significancy of nod and
shrug, and all the grimace of mystery, hinted that peace
was certainly negotiating at that moment, and the terms
were so far settled and agreed on that the present ruling
power in this country was perfectly secure. On the other
hand the Patriots, by whom the arrival of the French is

1 He returned to The Hague November 28.

242 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

expected much more ardently and more devoutly wished
than the Messiah by the children of Abraham, began to
tremble and falter, and manifestly to discover their fears
of being abandoned by their promised deliverers. It was
said that Sweden and Denmark were to be jointly the media
tors between the belligerent powers, but the Orangists were
in too great haste for peace to think of the forms and niceties
of a mediation. In a numerous party composed of persons
of this description at Amsterdam, I heard more than one
of them express a great contempt for the idea of a media
tion, and affirm that the powers interested in the event would
easily settle their differences, without the intervention of
any mediator. The unexpected prorogation of the British
Parliament was considered as full proof that the Ministry
of that country had determined to negotiate, and as to any
difficulty arising on the part of France, it scarcely appears
to enter their minds in the form of a possibility.

The next report was that the mediation was to be from the
United States, and that Mr. Jay was already commissioned
for the purpose.

I last evening returned the visit of the Minister of Portu
gal, which he had made me at Amsterdam. Speaking
upon the subject of peace he said it was in the power of this
country to obtain it. She had only to speak the word, and
it would be done. I said it did not appear an easy thing
to me for the States General to make peace without the
consent of Great Britain. But, said he, they can if they
please compel that consent. I do not see how they could,
but I did not press the conversation on that point any fur
ther. I told him I had heard much of the mediation of
Sweden and Denmark. "Yes," said he, "and you Ameri
cans are to be concerned in the business too." I told
him, that on Mr. Jay's first arrival in England there had

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 243

been a report of his being employed for such an affair, and
that since his signing the treaty with Lord Grenville it had
been revived. But I had not believed it then, and do not
believe it now. He said that there certainly had been some
kind of proposals made to Mr. Jay on the subject, implying
that they came from the British Ministry. "But," added
he, "that Ministry have in reality no thoughts of peace;
they mean to amuse and delude and gain time, but nothing
more. They are absolutely bent upon another campaign.
They will pretend to enter upon negotiations and to listen
to terms, but it will all come to nothing. The Emperor is,
indeed, extremely desirous of peace, but he will not make it
without the consent of Great Britain. He will therefore
make one feeble, ineffectual campaign more."

As this conversation was neither official nor confidential,
you will justly appreciate the dependence to be placed in the
opinion thus expressed. I have thought it my duty to give
it you as accurately as I am able, especially as it concerns in
some measure the United States themselves.

The determination of the British Ministry to pursue the
war is now public, and the Orangists again begin to droop
the head, and speak of mediation as a desirable thing.

I am not of the opinion of the gentleman of Portugal, that
peace is so much within the power of this country; they
cannot even abandon their allies and become their enemies,
without extreme danger to themselves. Thirty thousand
British troops are upon their territory; though unable to
resist the progress of the enemy they are amply competent
to the destruction of their friends, and what apprehensions
arc to be entertained as to the avowed hostility of those whose
very protection is dreaded like a pestilence ?

The magistracy of Amsterdam notwithstanding their
severity against the presenters of the famous petition had

244 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

come to a resolution, as I am told, not to admit foreign troops
into their city. A few days since a body of 1500 men from
the English army appeared before Delft. Their presence
was so much deprecated by the inhabitants that the gates
were shut against them, and the magistracy, yielding to the
popular impulse, resolved that they should not be admitted
into the city. The Duke of York has been expected here
since yesterday and has I presume arrived. The only ground
of his visit that I have heard mentioned is that he comes to
complain of the exclusion given to his troops at Delft, and
to obtain a counter order and satisfaction in this respect.
It is not probable that the force of the popular sentiment will
stand against the uncontrolled dominion of the British
influence. . . .

TO JOHN JAY

THE HAGUE, December 2, 1794.
DEAR SIR:

On my return here at the close of the last week from
Amsterdam I received your favor of the 24th ultimo, and
request you to accept my thanks for the communications
it contains. By public report I had already heard not only
that the treaty was signed,1 but the pretended purport of
many articles of its contents. I had already felt myself
obliged to leave ardent and in some instances inquisitive
curiosity in the same suspense in which I had found it upon
this subject. Upon the state of the negotiation when I left
London I could give our friends here no other information
than what resulted from public report in that place from
which all I had collected was that the affair was in a probable
train of settlement. Since the receipt of your letter I have

1 The treaty was signed November 19.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 245

taken the liberty to mention the stipulation which you ob
serve requires not to be kept secret.

The desire of peace among all the friends and supporters
of the government in this country is animated to the highest
degree by the prevailing opinion of an irresistible necessity.
The task of essentially contributing to reconcile opposing
interests to preserve dignity from humiliation and to har
monize discordant circumstances is in the public opinion
once more assigned to the same person who in that opinion
has recently performed it with so much ability. The hopes
which have been indulged in this particular are at this mo
ment however restrained by the general idea that an allied
government is irrevocably determined upon the experiment
of another campaign.

I have been informed since my return from Amsterdam
that Mr. Voltravers is gone to England. He made similar
application to that mentioned in your letter to me for which
he assigned the same reason. I told him that such an ap
pointment from me would certainly afford him no protec
tion in England, and even if it could, a compliance with his
request on my part was inconsistent with my ideas of pro
priety.

I received this day from Amsterdam a Baltimore news
paper of 3Oth September. It contains no intelligence of
consequence.

The armies in this country do not at present appear to be
very active. The Duke of York is here. There appears to
be some difficulty about the reception of British troops into
the cities. It is said the magistracy of Amsterdam have
taken a resolution against the measure as it respects that
capital.

I am with every sentiment of respect and attachment,
Dear Sir, your very humble and obedient servant.

246 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, December 3, 1794.
MY DEAR SIR:

I inclose herewith a letter from Mr. Dumas, which he
requested me to transmit. The old gentleman's health
appears to be very good, and he looks not older than he did
when you saw him last. But oppression has had its pro-
verbid effect upon him, and he can write, think, nor talk
about anything but representative democracy and Joel
Barlow.

Last week at Leyden I saw our old friend Professor Luzac,1
who is at this time Rector Magnificus of the University.
He received us with great cordiality, and I found him in his
political sentiments moderate and rational. The instance
is rare, and accordingly he suits neither of the parties in
this country. The "Tories call him Whig, and Whigs a
Tory," because he neither wishes to be the slave of the ruling
power, nor to see his country liberated by means of being
conquered.

There has been much talk about peace, sometimes with,
sometimes without mediation. One day Sweden and Den
mark are to be joint mediators, the next the United States
alone are to perform that part. This moment we are told
the Baron de Stael has left Stockholm, and the moment after
we find it is Mr. Jay who has gone from London to Paris.
Amidst all these reports there is no real prospect of peace
whatever.

If the affairs of this country had not been so often re
trieved from the very brink of the precipice, I should think
them at this moment absolutely desperate. They all think
them so, and Mr. Fagel, the greffier, has been at London

1 John Luzac.

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 247

ever since I arrived here, to solicit ineffectually their inex
orable ally to join in a negotiation for peace.

The subserviency of these people to the will of Great
Britain is not at this time altogether voluntary. They
cannot disencumber themselves of their protectors. It is
their misfortune to be defended by thirty thousand allies,
who would be more fatal as enemies than they are serviceable
as friends. There is but a single step in the transition, and
from the conduct of the British troops, one would imagine they
had already taken it. It is hardly possible to conceive how
much their assistance is dreaded. The cities shut their gates
against them, all ranksof people equally detestand shun them ;
and, with what justice I am unable to say, the unpopularity of
the commander is not less conspicuous than his rank. . . .

The British Ambassador here, Lord St. Helen's, alias Fitz-
herbert,1 did not return my visit of notification. He gave an
entertainment yesterday, intended for the Duke of York, who
was expected here but did not come. The Court of the Stadt-
holdcr assisted at this entertainment. The Ambassador
sent me an invitation. I sent him for answer that I was
engaged, as was really the fact. I shall see him no more.

This circumstance is in itself so trivial that I have not
mentioned it to the Secretary of State in my letter of yes
terday to him. I do not wish to commence a diplomatic
career by splitting hairs of etiquette.

Yet I am desirous that the circumstance should be known
to Mr. Randolph and to the President. If you will please
communicate it to the former, the object will be answered.
I am, etc.2

1 Alleyne Fitzhcrbert, Baron St. Helens (1753-1839), appointed ambassador
at the Hague, March 25, 1794. He was one of the British peace commissioners at
Paris in 1782.

2"By the capture of Antwerp a difficulty has occurred, upon which the gentle
men at Amsterdam have no doubt already written you. The annual interest of

248 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 15 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

HAGUE, December 22, 1794. 1
DEAR SIR: .....

December 23. I this morning paid a visit to Mr. Van der
Spiegel, the Councillor Pensionary of Holland, whom I have
hitherto not been able to see on account of his sickness part
of the time since I arrived, and having twice been so un
fortunate when I went to visit him as to find him so much
engaged that he could not see me.2

the loan made there [in December, 1791] of three millions of florins is, by the
tenor of the obligations made payable at the compting house of Mr. De Wolf, and
the bankers here [at Amsterdam] have annually remitted the money to Ant
werp for the purpose. As the circulation of assignats is compulsive, the Bra-
banters, holders of the American obligations, are apprehensive of receiving their
interest in that currency, and our bankers have not transmitted the money for the
interest that becomes due for the last year. It may be added that many of their
creditors are now emigrants, and may possibly have other apprehensions for the
fate of this principal as well as of the interest. One of these called upon me at
Amsterdam last week to enquire whether I could give him any relief. I told him
that I had neither instructions nor power relating to that loan, but would readily
transmit any representation he wished to make ; and I did not doubt but the United
States would do their creditors full justice. He said an expedient had already been
adopted by the court of Denmark upon the same occasion, which had been satis
factory to their creditors in their Brabant loans, and which, if equally adopted by
the United States, would very much accommodate him and many others in the same
predicament. It was to declare that the holders of their obligations might receive
their interest at Copenhagen instead of Antwerp, and that they might exchange
the obligations themselves for others bearing the same interest." To the Secretary
of the Treasury [Alexander Hamilton], December 5, 1794. Ms.

1 On December n, he removed to the house of Mr. Jehn, Hoffstraat.

2 Van der Spiegel had been active in effecting the revolution of 1787, and was
rewarded by the office he now held. He was a "man of letters and talents, raised
(according to the language which has hitherto been fashionable even in this coun
try) from an humble origin to consideration and eminence ; but elevated by the
Stadtholder's victory to the most important elective office of the union." To
Secretary of Stale, February 5, 1795. Ms.

1794] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 249

I told him I had some time since presented a memorial to
their High Mightinesses upon the subject of an American
vessel captured by a privateer with a Dutch Commission,
carried into the Island of St. Martin's, and her cargo there
condemned by the Court of Admiralty.1 That I knew not
what had been done with my memorial but took the liberty
to solicit his attention to it. He appeared not to know any
thing of my memorial, and said it had probably been referred
to the Council of the Colonies, that he could not conceive
how they should take an American vessel at St. Martin's,
between which and the United States there was a commerce,
and that it would be necessary to obtain information on the
subject. I told him that in my memorial I had stated that
documents to prove the facts were in my possession, to
which he made no reply.

He asked me if I had heard anything from America of a
discontent (mecontentement) among the negroes of Demarara.
I answered I had not, but mentioned the state of health
existing both in Philadelphia and Baltimore, testified by
your letter of November 8. He said he had no letters from
America of later date than September. That the news
from England by yesterday's post mentioned as a mere
rumor these movements of Demarara, but he presumed had
there been any foundation for the report, it would have made
its way from other quarters.

I observed that many persons concerned in the naviga-

1 The Wilmington Packet, Moses Andrews, master, and the property of Jeremiah
Condy and Company of Charleston, S.C. She sailed from Bordeaux in July, 1793,
for the island of St. Thomas, and was captured, September 6, by the Elynda,
a privateer schooner, William Palmer, master, and belonging to Jean Baptista
Francois de Bragclongne, of the island of St. Martins. The discussion extended
over some years, and owing to the changes in the government and the doubtful
situation of the Dutch colonies, remained undetermined when Adams left the
Hague in 1797.

250 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

tion and commerce between this country and the United
States had complained to me that it was subjected to re
strictions which were extremely inconvenient, that a regu
lation prescribing the passage north about to American
vessels, and requiring bonds of treble the value of goods
shipped, conditioned that they shall be landed at the place
for which they are cleared, and an express declaration that
capture by the French shall not be understood to be an ex
emption from the penalty, was equivalent at this season
to a complete prohibition. That I had known lately an
instance of an American vessel obliged to go home in ballast
in consequence of these regulations, and had reason to
suppose others in the same predicament ; that as the inter
ests of the United States were concerned in the freedom of
the navigation of their citizens, I felt myself obliged to make
these observations to him.

He said that "as to navigation at the present season the
severity of the weather was such as to occasion for some
time an obstruction to it almost total. That the regula
tions I mentioned were common to all nations;" and, said
he, "our own subjects are also bound by them. They had
been adopted because experience had shown that vessels
going through the channel could easily either slip into some
of the ports of France, or cause themselves to be taken. That
as experience had proved the necessity of some regulation,
some of the merchants of Amsterdam had proposed that
of going the northern passage, and the gentlemen surely
could not complain of the effect of their own measure." I re
plied that any consent given by particular merchants of
Amsterdam could not at any rate be a support to the regu
lation at present, when the season rendered the passage
north about almost impossible, and was doubtless confined
to that part of the year when that passage is convenient

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 251

or practicable. He said it was not a consent of the gentle
men but their own proposal, and if they were not satisfied
with the effect of their own measure, they might address
themselves.

He inquired of me whether I knew if General Eustace
was yet gone ? I answered he was. He said that his con
duct here was very suspicious. That he wore a French
uniform, that he saw very suspicious persons here ; that
as he declared he had left the French service in compliance
with the requisition of American neutrality, some regard
had been shown him in that consideration, which he did not
deserve in any other. I said nothing on this subject.

I then told him I had instructions relative to a difficulty
which had been made against the admission of a consul
from the United States in one of the West India Islands
belonging to this Republic. He said the Colonies had no
free commerce. That by their old and original Constitu
tion no foreign nation whatever could carry on any trade
with them ; that as there could be no foreign legitimate
commerce to protect, there could be no room for the exer
cise of consular functions; as to any contraband that might
be carried on, a consul had never been admitted to encour
age that.

I said that by the treaties of commerce subsisting between
their High Mightinesses and the United States, the stipula
tion for the reciprocal admission of consuls was without
any limitation,1 and it was understood by the government
of the United States to extend as well to the ports in America
as elsewhere. He rejoined that it was only meant the ports
of the Republic in Europe. That it was an ancient difference
(demele) that they had had with France, who had always
insisted upon having consuls in their East India colonies,

1 Article XXI of the treaty of 1782.

252 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

but which she had never obtained. That it had been an
invariable rule observed with respect to all other nations,
and was founded on the reason he had mentioned, that as
they could have there no legal commerce, so there could be
no occasion for the functions of a Consul.

Such was the substance of a conversation upon which I
think it unnecessary to make any observations except to
mention the reason which induced me to speak of the regula
tion requiring bonds as above mentioned, and also that upon
which I said nothing in reply to his observations respecting
General Eustace. The first was because the regulation,
though in word it is universal in its application, yet from the
nature of things its operation is, if not exclusively, at least
more extensively prejudicial to the American navigation
than to any other. I was in hopes that a mere statement
of the circumstances would at least discover his dispositions
as to an alteration. In this particular I was not disap
pointed, but as to the quality of the dispositions you will
form an accurate opinion of them from the whole tenor of his
conversation, which it is unnecessary for me to anticipate.

As to his reflections upon General Eustace, and the asser
tion that they had dealt with him more tenderly than he
deserved out of deference to the United States, I could not
assent to what he said conformably to my opinion, and I
could not dissent without making myself at least a party to
the cause of that gentleman, which I had always given him
to understand was not my intention without orders to
justify me.

I did not think the treatment he received here gave this
government any title to acknowledgments on the part of
the United States.1

One of their citizens, who had served in their armies in

1 "Visit to Grand Pensionary. Began well, ended ill." Ms. Diary.

i794l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 253

a respectable station and attained a high rank in those of
France before the war between the two Republics, and which
he had quitted to preserve the privileges of his country's
neutrality, is arrested, has a guard set over his person ; his
papers are seized, sent away the distance of twenty-five
miles, undergo an examination, are found to contain nothing
criminal in them, upon which he is released. The liberty,
the property of an American citizen, the security of his
dwelling place, the intimacy of his private correspondence,
all are violated, without any sort of intimation either of the
design or of the execution to the Minister of the United
States here, or to their Vice Consul then residing at the
place where the arrest takes place. Nothing is found upon
him even sufficient to support suspicion already roused.
The only ground of the proceeding pretended is that he
wore a French uniform, and saw suspected persons.

I could see nothing in this transaction that merited so
much as my approbation in the capacity of my country's
representative.

On the other hand, I was sensible that the particular
situation of this government at the moment, surrounded
by foreign and filled with domestic enemies, afforded some
excuse for extraordinary measures, that a French uniform
publicly worn would naturally appear to the jealous con
firmation strong; that an intimacy with persons in open
and avowed aversion to the ruling power (though free and
reputable citizens, exempt from all legal pursuit,) would
give some plausibility to the severities of fear, and that
except in the momentary violence offered to the principles
and feelings which we hold dear, no material injury had
eventually been suffered by the individual. That the in
ternal proceedings of one government ought not hastily to
be arraigned by the servant of another nation, and that no

254 THE WRITINGS OF [1794

interest of urgency required of me at this time to give of
fence. I therefore thought it most advisable to remain
totally silent upon the subject, and if I am to say anything
to them about it, to wait for the instructions of the Presi
dent and your's, Sir, for my authority. . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, December 21, 1794.

We have at this moment a rumor, which has darted like
lightning through the whole Province of Holland, and which
is propagated in such a manner, that there can be no doubt
but it is indirectly countenanced by the Court. It is that
two commissioners are appointed to proceed immediately
to Paris for the negotiation of a peace, and Mr. Brantzen,1
the former ambassador extraordinary in France, and Mr.
Repelaer, a burgomaster of Dort, are named as the persons.
This intelligence is probably not true, . . . because it is
hardly conceivable that Britain should consent to a separate
negotiation on the part of this country, or that she should
join in a general negotiation as yet; and it is equally
difficult to suppose that the court here, that is the governing
power, should so far disencumber itself from British thral
dom, as to negotiate separately and in a public manner for
peace without their consent. . . .

Among the difficulties with which the government is
compelled to struggle, the want of money is one of the most
important. The weight of taxation with which these
Provinces are burdened in ordinary times is well known to
you. It has already been aggravated to the extremity of

1 Gerard Brantsen (1735-1810) had been ambassador to France, 1782-1787, and
again held the same appointment after 1806.

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 255

sufferance, yet the public treasury is empty. The public
credit of course is proportionably impaired. The obliga
tions of the Province of Holland, which you have always
known at par, and generally higher, have depreciated to 55
and even 50 per cent. New loans have been attempted
and totally failed. The dangerous and extreme resource
of a paper currency has already been resorted to, and an
emission of five millions of guilders has taken place to supply
the impending contingency of public payments. The cir
culation of this paper, it is said, will be voluntary as to the
people in general, and compulsive only upon the persons in
office. But this regulation must be intended only to facili
tate the introduction of the paper to the public, and there is
little reason to doubt that its acceptance in all payments will
be enforced very soon by the sanction of the Law. . . .

I perceive that the Dutch resident at Philadelphia does
not write to his constituents so frequently, nor give them
so particular accounts of American affairs, as would be neces
sary to give them entire satisfaction. If he is well disposed
towards our country, and would be likely to make a just
representation of things, I could wish he had some friend
who should in a delicate manner intimate this circumstance
to him. It would certainly render him a service, and might
be useful to the interests of the United States.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 17 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

HAGUE, January 3, 1795.

This morning the Charge des affairs of Sardinia l paid me a
visit, and appeared to be exceedingly fearful of the events

1 Italics represent what was written in cipher. The charge was M. Plcnti.

256 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

which a continuance of the present severe weather may
produce. He said the Court and the States, he understood,
were determined not to move from hence at any rate. That
the ministers of Sweden 1 and Denmark 2 were resolved not
to move, and those of the belligerent powers were in an
embarrassing position, as their departure would have a bad
effect upon the common cause, in the opinion which it
would spread in public that the state of affairs is desperate,
and their continuance here would expose them to be treated
as enemies. That for his own part he should feel very much
embarrassed in the predicament had he not recently re
ceived instruction in case of events to withdraw to Eng
land. That the Ministers of Sweden and Denmark had offered
to receive and protect his movables that he could not carry off,
but that he had rather lose all, than give an alarm by trans
porting his goods from his home. He therefore made me two
proposals. First, that if I wished he would sell me his
furniture and the lease of his house, which is at a low rent
and would be convenient enough for me. The other, that I
should take a simulated sale of them, and have the use of them,
in order to cover the property ; that I should thereby render him
a most important service.

Though it would be extremely agreeable to me to perform
any good office for one of my diplomatic brothers, which might
tend to establish a claim to gratitude towards my country, yet
I cannot conceive myself justified in any departure from the
obligations of the severest neutrality for that purpose.

Upon the second proposal, therefore, I could not hesitate
a moment in forming my determination.

As to the other, which would at the same time suit my
own convenience, and comply with his wishes without in
fringing in the minutest particular upon the rights of others,

1 Comte dc Lowenhielm. * Schubart.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 257

I told him I would think of it, and give him my answer
to-morrow morning.

Upon reflection however I have concluded to reject theivhole,
because if the events apprehended by him should really
take place, I feel the importance of establishing the most
unequivocal claim to all the regard, which the laws of
nations in similar cases attribute to the character which
I bear. American property to a large amount has already
been put under my immediate protection, and it is not
improbable that I may be under the necessity of using my
exertions for the indemnity of much more. In order to
retain in full perfection all the rightful means in my power
to serve my own fellow citizens, if the occasion should require
it, I see the necessity not only of avoiding every act but
every cause of suspicion l that might tend to impair them.
The measure, though perfectly innocent, would probably
be observed, and might at least occasion doubts and jealous
ies which would weaken the confidence upon which the full
possession of my neutral privileges may depend.

These are only two among a considerable number of appli
cations which are frequently made to me on either side of
the warring parties, and wherein I find myself obliged to
refuse what is asked of me as a favor. It is a disagreeable
task to refuse offices of kindness, but I find it not less
necessary than unpleasant.

It seems from the conversation which I have just related,
that the Swedish and Danish Ministers offer without scruple
to cover property liable to the laws of war, nor do they think
[it] necessary to be secret in pursuing this conduct. It will
no doubt give them opportunities to render most essential ser
vices, and may entitle them to gratitude which is a good in
strument in the hands of a negotiator.

1 Not in cipher.

258 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

I, too, by this singular concurrence of circumstances have
this advantage in my power, and have no doubt but I might
easily make myself very busy in the use of it. It might be
useful ; I will not say it would be unjust. It is not, I think,
expedient. I have, etc.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 1 8 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

HAGUE, January 7, 1795.

In the meantime some feeble hopes of relief are still en
tertained from the event of their negotiations at Paris. It
is very questionable whether the authority of their Commis
sioners extends to the terms which it may be expected will
be required, and which it should seem the Convention are
now in a situation to dictate. They seem here to have made
up their minds for an abandonment of the British alliance,
and there will be probably no difficulty in that particular.
But whether they are yet prepared to substitute the French
alliance in its stead, and to go to war with those who are now
defending them ; whether this measure will not be required
as an indispensable condition to the accommodation, remains
a problem still to be solved. There is indeed one uncer
tainty more which is really the greatest anxiety of the Court
party, though they do not mention it.

They are fearful that conditions specially unfavorable to
the authority of the House of Orange will be required, con
ditions to which they are determined not to consent, because
it would only confine to them the ruin, which at the worst
they suppose will be general, and this is a species of devo
tion to which they are not inclined.

In the meantime the business of which I wrote you in

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 259

my No. 1 1 is still transacting. The two persons l I therein
mentioned were at Paris before the Commissioners Brantzen
and Repelaer. They obtained passports, their errands being
known, and those who sent them yet hope their success.

It may be concluded from these circumstances that the
destiny of this country is now in the hands of the French
Convention. With a public commission in behalf of the
present ruling power, and a secret one treating for the Patriots,
they may chuse according to their ideas of their own interest,
and close with those who offer the best terms.

In considering that the real interest of France must be
effectually to detach this Republic from the alliance with
Britain, it cannot escape reflection that her strongest se
curity will consist in a Revolution, at least partial, in the
government.

The negotiation of the moment is avowedly the effect of
necessity, and it is not even pretended by those who conduct
it that it is accompanied with a sincere desire of returning
friendship. To the whole party France is an object of de
testation and Britain of reverence, which no generosity
can remove, which no violence and ill treatment can cancel.
This truth cannot be more forcibly demonstrated than by
the temper which evidently prevails. For while the moment
of impending ruin extorts a cry for mercy, the determination
to repay it with ingratitude is not denied, and cannot be

1 See p. 254, supra. Italics represent cipher. Monroe has outlined the offers
made to the Convention by these Dutch agents. Writings of James Monroe, II.
188. The mission of Brantsen was undertaken too late. It demanded the resti
tution of what had been conquered, and the withdrawal of both the French and the
allied armies and the neutrality of Holland. In return the sovereignty and inde
pendence of France would be recognized. France desired a treaty of alliance, and
to this the commissioners would not consent. The "patriots" of Holland sent to
Paris as their representatives Blauw and Irhoven van Dam, and set up a claim for
recognition as against Brantsen and offered full submission to France.

26o THE WRITINGS OF [1795

concealed. On the other hand, by changing the possessors
of the administrative power, France will have in these
Provinces a zealous and affectionate ally, bound to her by
the same ties which now attach them so inseparably to her
rival. The system of policy adverse to the power of the
Stadtholder was for this reason always pursued by France
under the Monarchy, and one would expect it to be renewed
with more powerful energy, now that the ardent spirit of
congenial liberty is superadded to all the original motives
that supported it.

From the delays which were thrown in the way of the Com
missioners on their route to Paris, and the absolute refusal
of an armistice, nothing auspicious to the government which
employs them can be drawn. The partizans of the Court
therefore fear much for the event. But they are not with
out hopes arising from another source. They flatter them
selves that the moderate party, which still retains the as
cendancy in the National Convention, are disposed to tread
back the steps of their own Revolution further than they yet
venture to avow; that the day of French Republicanism is
really past ; that the night of their former government is
rapidly returning, and that the principles of counter revolu
tion will operate efficaciously, though in secret, to save the
existing Government of this country from ruin. . . .

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 20 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

AMSTERDAM, January I9th, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

In compliance with the request of the American bankers
I came yesterday to this place, and arrived just at the mo
ment when symptoms began to appear of a popular fer-

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 261

mentation, which still continues, and of which it is impossible
to foresee the result.1

On Saturday the i/th the French troops entered and took
possession of Utrecht by virtue of a capitulation. The
usual government is preserved, and the prisons were pre
vented from being thrown open.

Yesterday morning a flag arrived here with a letter from
General Daendels 2 to General Golofkin, the commander of
the garrison in this city, commanding him and the garrison
to lay down their arms, and evacuate the place. It is to be
observed, by way of explanation to this order, that the garri
son consists altogether of troops who have already been
made prisoners of war by the French, and have stipulated
not to serve against them during the war.

At about noon a deputation from the former citizen militia,
who were disarmed at the period of the Revolution in 1787,
made application to the magistrates of the city, demanding
the restoration of their arms, promising, if they were satis
fied in this demand, to maintain the tranquility of the
city.

At about four in the afternoon an officer from the French
army named Krayenhoff 3 came with a flag and exhibited

1 At the request of the American bankers in Amsterdam Adams went to that
place on January 18. He left The Hague in the morning and reached Amsterdam
at about four in the afternoon, and "found it a moment of crisis."

2 Hermann \Vilhelm Daendels (1762-1818) was a major in the brigade of Gueldre
in 1787, and found refuge in France, where he became lieutenant-colonel in a foreign
legion under Dumouriez. He was promoted and served as a general of a division
in the army of the North, and taking part with Pichcgru in the conquest of Holland,
he entered, June, 1795, the service of the Batavian republic as lieutenant-general.
He took part in the campaigns and revolutions of that country, was sent (1807) to
the Dutch East Indian colonies as governor-general, and, recalled by Napoleon,
shared in the Russian campaign. See Mendcls, //. W, Daendels (1890).

3 Cornelis Rodolf Theodore Krayenhoff (1758-1840), a physician and political
agitator. He attained rank in the French army as a superintendent of fortifica-

262 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

a commission constituting him commander of the city.
He is himself a Batavian and went from this city a short
time since. A criminal prosecution was commenced against
him, and tomorrow is the day upon which he was to appear
before the Court of Schepens.

His demand of the magistrates was the abdication of their
authority, but, as I am not yet authentically informed of
the particulars, I shall wait for more certainty to communi
cate them.

At the edge of the evening the three-colored cockades
began to appear in the streets. The night was noisy. The
song of the Carmagnole and the Marseillaise hymn resounded
in the streets, but no violence was attempted.

8 o'clock P.M. The day has passed without any sinister
accident. At about 10 this morning the three-colored flag
was displayed upon the State house. A provisional munici
pality appointed by the Batavian Revolutionary Com
mittee have entered upon the exercise of their functions.
They sent a deputation to the Regency, thanking them for
their former services, and informing them that there was no
further occasion for them in future. In the afternoon they
liberated from prison Mr. Visscher and the other persons
confined for affairs of state. The tree of liberty was erected
before the State House. The national cockade has become
almost universal. The orange colored one however is still
worn by the former garrison, who appear to be continued
upon guard and patrole as usual. The Revolution was
operated with not more than twenty-five or thirty French
hussars within the city. It is not even certain whether a
larger body has yet been introduced.

tions, but after 1813 he returned to Holland, accepted the rule of the House of
Orange, and became a baron and a lieutenant-general. He was now adjutant gen
eral to Daendels' force.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 263

Mr. Nicholas van Staphorst is a member of the new munic
ipality, and is expected in town tomorrow.

The Stadtholder with his family and court left the Hague
yesterday at about ten o'clock and embarked at Schevening;
they will probably go to England.1

January 2Oth. This afternoon General Pichegru with a
body of troops amounting to two or three thousand men
arrived in the city. The Regency of Haerlem has also been
dismissed, and the French forces arc also in possession.
They are likewise at Dort, and a few days more will give
them complete and undisputed possession of the Province
of Holland. I have, etc.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 21 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

AMSTERDAM, January 22, 1795.
DEAR SIR:

At the close of my last letter I mentioned the arrival of
General Pichegru, with a considerable body of French troops ;
at the same time came five Commissioners of the Conven
tion, deputed to the two armies of the North and of Sambre
and Meuse.2 The troops are quartered upon the inhabitants.
The Commissioners occupy the house of Mr. Hope who has
quitted the country. The General is quartered upon one
of the wealthiest partizans of the former government, and
every house in the city is ordered to receive two men upon
application.

The states of Holland have given orders to all their of-

1 See Memoirs, February 2, 1795.

* The letter to the Convention announcing the occupation of Amsterdam was
signed by Representatives Bellcgarde, Gillet, Lacoste, and Joubert. Portiez was

+ko 4UtK

264 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

ficers and commanders to make no further resistance against
the French armies. All the principal cities of the Province
have admitted their troops upon capitulation. Hitherto
no disorders have taken place, no massacres, no pillage, not
even any personal insult to the conspicuous characters of
the party heretofore dominant. The order and discipline
of the troops are almost without an exception. In short,
at this moment, it is scarcely possible for us who are spec
tators to conceive that what we have witnessed is in reality
the complicated transaction of a foreign conquest and an
internal revolution.

As the property belonging to the United States and their
citizens in this country could not be subject to the terms of
a capitulation, I thought it might be of some utility to see
the Commissaries, and give them notice of the expectation
that the neutral privileges of American property will at all
events be respected.

I accordingly paid them a visit this day, and was received
in a manner perfectly satisfactory. The interview consisted
principally of mutual compliments and expressions of civility,
which it is unnecessary to repeat,1 but in the course of the
conversation I told them, that the principles they had ob
served in the midst of victory, and the discipline and
regularity, which so honorably distinguished the French
armies now in this country, perhaps rendered useless any
observations of mine upon the subject of property belonging
to my country or my fellow citizens. That, however, as a
different mode of warfare might have been pursued, the
duties of my situation rendered it proper on my part to
assure them of my full persuasion that, upon any contin
gency whatever, all the American citizens and property here
would enjoy all the protection and security to which they

1 See the Memoirs, January 22, 1795.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 265

are entitled. The citizen who appeared to be at the head
of the deputation, and who held the principal conversation
with me answered, that American persons and property
will be under the same common safeguard with those be
longing to this nation, of the principles by which the conduct
of the French people is dictated, and of the loyalty and regu
larity constantly observed by the French armies. That the
French people did not come here as enemies of the Dutch
people, nor had they any intention of offering violence to
their persons, their property, or their opinions. That if in
the course of circumstances it should be necessary to make
any exceptions, the Representatives of the French people
would certainly make the strongest representations to their
constituents in behalf of those whom they considered as
their first friends, of a free people for whom they had the
highest regard and attachment.

Notwithstanding the protection extended to all private
property, I presume that in consequence of the present
circumstances the natives here will before any great lapse
of time be subjected to burdens, from which the citizens of
the United States will think the property belonging to them
within the Republic entitled to an exemption. These bur
dens may appear in the form of a requisition or a contribu
tion, and perhaps in a form which we cannot anticipate.
The Commissioners enquired if I knew what number of
vessels and what other property of our citizens there is
here. I answered them, I did not. With respect to the
vessels I shall take measures to ascertain it, but for the
rest, I am confident I shall not be informed until it becomes
a subject of absolute necessity, in order to save the property
from the effect of an established regulation. One American
citizen and one English consignee of several others, are the
only persons who have delivered to me any statements of

266 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

property, for which they demanded the protection of our
neutrality, and I find the other merchants, holders of
American merchandise, averse to any communication which
they think is not yet of absolute necessity. . . -1

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 22 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

AMSTERDAM, January 24th, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

The municipality, or to speak more accurately the pro
visional Representatives of Amsterdam, are presided [over] by
Mr. Schimmelpenninck,2 an eminent lawyer, with whom I had
formed an acquaintance upon my first arrival in this city.
He is a man of fair reputation for abilities and integrity,

1 " I have lately been informed that General Eustace, whose adventure in this coun
try has been mentioned in several of my letters to you, did not go to America, but
landed in France and returned to Paris. From a variety of circumstances I am led
to suspect that he concerted with some of the Patriots here the measures which are
now carrying into execution. I have little doubt but that he was disposed to make
his arrest the occasion of a difference between the government to which I was
accredited and me. In this disposition several of the Patriots, then under the
harrow, but now in power, probably concurred. But neither the ostensible motives
which they addressed to my passions and my docility rather than my understand
ing, nor the real purpose which they did not confide to me, appeared to me sufficient
to justify measures on my part offensive to the government then existing,
to whom I had so lately been sent, with assurances of friendship from that of my
country. I therefore did not interfere at all in the affair after his liberation."
To the Secretary of State [Randolph], January 22, 1795. Ms.

i 2 Roger Jean Schimmelpenninck (1761-1825) was a deputy in the first National
Assembly of the Batavian Republic. In 1798 he became minister and later am
bassador to Paris, and to London. Raised to the dignity of Grand Pensionary, he
refused the appointment of life president of the corps legislatif under Louis, and
when Holland was annexed to the French Empire he became a count and senator.
On the return of the House of Orange he was a member of the first or upper house
of the States General.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 267

both parties appear to consider him as worthy of the station
in which he is placed.

I saw him accordingly this morning, and stated to him
the grounds upon which I wished to obtain as early informa
tion as possible upon their future intentions. I observed
to him that the rumor appeared to indicate a total revolu
tion of government, of Constitution, and of principles to
commence from the present moment. That in the relation
in which other nations stand towards this the knowledge
of their further views becomes a subject of mutual impor
tance, and that I believed it to be customary to give notice
to other friendly governments of such great changes as
that which is taking place.

He said he believed that the substance of all the institu
tions whereby the government has hitherto been adminis
tered would be provisionally retained ; that by proceeding
otherwise they could expect nothing but anarchy. That
they had written letters to all the cities of this province
requesting their new regencies to appoint deputies to meet
together at the Hague; that these deputies were already
appointed, and he supposed would assemble tomorrow.
They would assume all the functions hitherto performed by
the States of Holland. They had also written circular
letters to all the other provinces requesting them to pursue
the same system of alteration. That as soon as this could
be effected an assembly would be formed consisting of depu
ties from the provincial assemblies, which would be a sub
stitute for the former States General. That officers corre
spondent to the Pensionary of Holland and Grefficr of the
States General would be appointed, and in general that the
mode of government would be preserved as heretofore.
But that as the titles of "High and Mighty," of "Great and

268 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Noble," and the like, are not acceptable at the present day,
these Assemblies would be known under more civic denomi
nations. Perhaps they would be called the " Assembly of
the United Provinces/' "The Assembly of the Province of
Holland," or something similar, but the powers would still
remain. He added, that he had yesterday seen and con
versed with the representatives of the French people upon
this subject. That they entirely concurred in the opinion
that this is the best system that can be pursued for temporary
arrangement, and had promised to support them in it.1

He assured me that he would not forget the intimation
relative to the notice to be given to other powers of the
change of government here, and I requested him also to
bear in mind that the credentials of ministers to and from
the late States General may perhaps be so far affected as
to require renewal or change. . . .2

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 23 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, February 1st, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

A vessel belonging to Mr. Swanwick,3 bound from Phila
delphia to Hamburg, was obliged some days since by stress
of weather to put into the Texel, and an application to the
representatives of the French people became necessary to
obtain a permission for the captain to depart and proceed
upon his voyage. I saw them accordingly this day, and
they assure me that the necessary orders shall immediately
be given, requiring only for their justification a demand in
writing, which I have therefore made.

1 In cipher. 2 January 31 Adams returned to The Hague.

3 James Swanwick. It was the Active, William Blair, master.

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 269

They said they were happy to have the ministers of the
powers in friendship with France as witnesses of the manner
in which they conducted themselves in this country. I
answered, that the testimony of every spectator must be
honorable to them in the highest degree. And certainly
their conduct has been not merely just but generous. They
have not only promised and secured respect for the persons,
property, and opinions of this people, but they have done
the same towards the individuals even of the other nations
at war with them. The ministers of Great Britain, Spain,
Prussia and Sardinia left this place upon the approach of
the French armies. The Spanish Minister had his horses
taken from his carriage in the middle of the road, and was
left thus in the coach on his way through the province of
Guclderland. This depredation was committed by sol
diers of an allied army.

But the Portuguese and Russian Ministers,1 and the
Secretary of the Prussian Legation,2 who remained here,
have not been molested, but have been treated with polite
ness and attention. The Russian Minister, desiring to
leave the country, was provided with a passport by the
representatives of the people. It has been left at the option
of the others to withdraw or to remain at their pleasure, and
all the privileges of the diplomatic character are allowed
them, and have not been violated by any of the troops. . . .

The inveteracy against Great Britain appears to be unani
mous among them, and discovers itself upon every occasion.
They talk of making a descent in England, as of a thing
decided on, and most of them are ambitious of being em
ployed in the expedition. Their hopes of success are founded
upon the expectation that they shall have only to contend
with such warriors as they have found in the British troops

1 Chevalier d'Araujo and Count de Kalitcheff. 2 Baron de Bielfeld.

270 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

upon the continent. They declare universally that these
troops are the worst of all the allied armies. To all the
others they render full justice, most especially to the Aus-
trians.

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY

[ALEXANDER HAMILTON]

THE HAGUE, February 2d, 1795.
SIR :

On the 5th of December last I had the honor of writing
you relative to the loan of 800,000 dollars, which has been
proposed, and to the interest due and not paid upon the
Antwerp loan.

Since that time a total revolution has taken place in the
political state of this country, but hitherto without operat
ing any change of circumstances favorable to the success
of the intended loan. The shyness and timidity of wealth
are not yet removed, and the numerous recent deficiencies
of payments at once diminish the usual quantity of super
fluous money, and shake the confidence of individuals in all
public engagements.

The interest due upon the loans of the Emperor of Russia,
of Poland, of Sweden and of the Dutch East India Company
are all suspended. The province of Holland itself is more
than insolvent, and the only securities which have not con
siderably depreciated are those of the United States.

The advices from Lisbon upon which at all events the
opening of the loan is to depend, have not been received.
The bankers have repeatedly urged to me, and they have also
written to you, Sir, their opinion of the expediency of an
unconditional authority to take advantage of any favorable
opportunity which may present itself. They say that from

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 271

the nature of these transactions an occasion frequently
occurs, which opens for a few days an avenue to the object
which is totally barred before and afterwards.

They have written to Hamburg to make inquiries whether
the loan could be made there, in case it should continue to
be impracticable in this country. They have received
orders to transmit money for the payment of the interest
due upon the Antwerp loan, orders which it has hitherto
been impossible for them to execute. At the time when the
interest became due the communication between Amster
dam and Antwerp was interrupted, and a prohibition of the
government here prevented the remittance. The inter
course is now perfectly free, but Mr. de Wolf's compting
house is shut up, and I have been told that he is himself
detained as an hostage to secure the payment of a contri
bution imposed upon the city of Antwerp.

Should he be speedily liberated and his compting house
again opened, the holders of the Brabant obligations who
arc already impatient and uneasy will become clamorous
unless they are immediately paid, and the delay, which I
fear will then be inevitable, must have some temporary
effect upon our credit.

Whether this delay in the case supposed shall be una
voidable or not, must depend upon the capacity and dispo
sition of Mr. de Wolf to advance the money, for I confess
I have little expectation that it will be remitted from hence.

In a conversation which I had a few days since with Air.
William Willink and Mr. Hubbard they informed me, that
when their payments of this month and of March shall be
made, they shall be in advance with the Treasury Depart
ment. And the former of these gentlemen intimated that
in case Mr. de Wolf should be liberated, the obligation of
making advances upon his loan was incumbent upon him,

272 THE WRITINGS OF [i795

as those upon their loans would be a sufficient burden upon
them.

This circumstance is mentioned in order to warrant an
observation which becomes indispensable. It is, that no ex
ertions beyond what a sense of duty prescribes are to be ex
pected from the Amsterdam gentlemen to secure the fulfill
ment of our stipulations in the contract made at Antwerp.

It was also hinted that even in case there should be funds
in possession at Amsterdam sufficient for the remittance, the
possibility of an appropriation to other than the intended
purposes of the money after its reception at Antwerp ought
to be considered.

The character of the house at Antwerp is altogether un
known to me. The suspicion discovered on this occasion
may, perhaps without injustice, be attributed in part to
motives more immediately concerning the interest of the
gentlemen at Amsterdam than those of the United States.
But in the revolutions of property and of principles which
have become so frequent at this time, the inconvenience
and danger of multiplying great pecuniary trusts cannot
escape observation.

These trusts are necessarily so great, and at the same time
accompanied with so little real responsibility, that it is to
be wished the United States may seldom have occasion in
future of recurring to the resource of European loans.

When payments of the principal are made a certain
number of specific obligations are usually called in and
cancelled. An instance has lately occurred in which the
bankers who had negotiated a loan for the Danish govern
ment, instead of cancelling the obligations they had paid
off, issued them into circulation again, and by this infidelity
have loaded their employers with a double payment of the
same debt.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 273

The Emperor's bankers towards the close of the last
year, advertised in the public papers that the interest pay
able on the then ensuing new year's day would be paid as
usual. By a subsequent advertisement they gave notice
that the payments would be suspended for want of remit
tances. In the interval between the two publications they
are said to have sold out all the obligations upon the loan
held by themselves.

The Swedish bankers at Antwerp have paid the interests
due since the arrival of the French in that city in assignats,
whether by order of their government or otherwise, I am
unable to say. In either case the creditors are without
remedy. In the latter the Swedish government is in the
same situation.

The bankers of the United States at Amsterdam are
men of so much integrity that nothing is to be apprehended
from their transactions disgraceful to themselves, or deroga
tory to the honor of their employers. But the confidence
which is safe in their hands, cannot with equal security be
entrusted to a variety of commercial houses in different
parts of Europe, among foreigners not amenable to our
jurisdictions, and subject to no other control than their
individual fidelity.

Upon this occasion it may be proper to suggest to consid
eration the propriety of some arrangements to ensure the
payments of interest upon the Antwerp loan in future,
independent of any gratuitous exertions at Amsterdam.
Great confidence maybe reposed in the dispositions of those
gentlemen to maintain the credit of the United States in
their own city, and they will not hesitate in case of necessity
to anticipate from their own chest a payment of interest,
rather than suffer a failure of punctuality in the performance
of stipulations contracted by their agency. The credit of

274 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

the United States at Antwerp they do not conceive to be so
much within their department, nor of primary importance.
It has nothing to expect from them but neutrality. I have
the honor, etc.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 24 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

DEAR SIR. THE HAGUE, February 5, 1795.

I have just returned from a visit to the citizen Paulus,1
President of the Assembly of Provisional Representatives of
the people of Holland.

By the notification, a copy of which was inclosed with my
last letter, it will be observed that the President of the
Assembly takes the place of the former Councillor Pension
ary as to his relations with foreign Ministers.

He spoke of the revolution which had just taken place
and of the moderation and humanity, which had attended it.
I observed that a revolution, conducted through with the
same principles and conduct which had hitherto distinguished
this, would exhibit an example worthy of admiration to all
the nations of the earth. He replied that the national
character, which was in general free from rashness and
impetuosity, would still continue to direct a sober and
regular conduct; that justice must have its claims, and the
crimes which have for seven years oppressed and persecuted
the Patriots of the country, will meet with punishment,
though not with revenge.

He said that under the alteration which had taken place
he hoped there would be none unfavorable to the friendship
subsisting between the two nations. That we were sister

1 Peter Paulus (1754-1796). See Adams, Memoirs, February 5, 1795.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 275

Republics, and as the number of such sisters is very small,
they had a particular value for our friendship. That I
should find among the persons now engaged in public affairs
many who had been the most active in promoting the
acknowledgment of our independence, and although they
were now proceeding upon a system altogether different
from that which they pursued at that time, yet their senti
ments and dispositions towards us were still the same.
That he had it expressly in charge from the Assembly to
make me these assurances, and to add that they were resolved
to perform l religiously the obligations of their treaties with
the United States, and were disposed even to contract closer
connections with them if they are so inclined.

I told him that relative to circumstances which had so
recently occurred, it was needless for me to observe that I
could have no orders or instructions from the government
of the United States to express their sentiments, but I could
take upon myself to say, that the assurance of a continua
tion of the friendship and harmony subsisting between the
two Republics would be received with great satisfaction,
and would meet with the return of a similar disposition.

As to the proposal of a closer connection I thought best not
to appear to have noticed it. . . .

The communication by the posts is opened anew with
France, but has not yet become regular. All the other
external posts are stopped, and the dearth of intelligence is
consequently great. The operation of the late events here
upon the policy of the belligerent powers is yet unknown,
nor does it appear whether this Republic will yet be per
mitted to remain in peace.

Should this be the case, undoubtedly the direct commerce
of the United States to this country will become very advan-

1 Words in italics were in cipher.

276 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

tageous, and will be more considerable than it has ever been
hitherto. But in case of a new war it will depend much upon
the policy pursued elsewhere. If our flag is respected, if
the rights of our neutrality are not contested, and the prac
tise of plundering one nation to starve another is disdained
as an unworthy mode of warfare, our merchants will have
great encouragement to pursue the commerce which is now
opening here. I am unwilling to make a contrary supposi
tion, but in case of necessity the proposal above related may
deserve particular attention.1 . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, February 12, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

Since the date of my last letter (December 21, 1794,)
a revolution has taken place, the substance of which had
been for some time expected, but the forms of which have
been infinitely milder than had ever entered the imagination
of any man. The French army of the North, after a brill
iant and successful campaign from March till December,
had at length reached the banks of the Waal, and was for
several weeks arrested in its progress by the natural barriers
which at all times have constituted the most important
defence of these provinces. Just at that period a succession
of weather almost without example both in point of severity
and of duration fastened all the waters of the country, and
while it constructed a safe and easy passage for the French
Republicans into the heart of Holland, it rendered the re
source of inundations impracticable to their enemies.2

1 In cipher.

* "March 7, 1795. The Waters have been shut eleven weeks. Such a season
is unparalleled in the memory of man. The severest winters in the course of the

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 277

The existing government of this Union was not prepared
for an event like this. The troops of the Republic capable
of opposing the march of the enemy were already reduced
by the events of the war from 50,000 to less than 15,000 men.
Of their allies the Austrians gave them but little assistance,
the Prussians none at all, and the British were considered
as a burthen rather than a defence.

The prevalence of British councils was however unim
paired in the cabinet. It had been proposed as early as
October to send commissioners to Paris to negotiate a peace.
A consent to receive them had already then been obtained,
but the compliance of the British government with the
measure was thought indispensable, and could not be
obtained.

It is presumed, however, that it was finally granted, as
the measure was taken. Two Commissioners were dis
patched to Paris, but their authority was not commensurate
with the exigency of affairs. The speech of the King of
Great Britain at the opening of his Parliament seems to
disapprove the step, but his Ambassador here still con
tinued his legislative functions, and two commissioners of
the French Republic, who in consequence of his instructions
had been kept in confinement since last May, were not
liberated from prison, even after the departure of the deputies
upon their pacific mission.

The armistice which was the primary object of their
negotiation could not be obtained. The Waal and the
Rhine became passable upon the ice, and the passage of
the former was accordingly effected by the French. On the
8th of January, a council of war was held at Utrecht, con
sisting of the Austrian, Hanoverian, British and Dutch

present century were in the years 1709 and 1740; but neither of those was so ex
cessive as that which is now breaking up." Ms. Diary.

278 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Generals, and the British Ambassador. The result of it
was one more effort of resistance on the part of the allies.
The actions of the 9th and loth were severe, but their
issue only served to prove the insufficiency of the allied
forces for the defence of this country. From that period
they gave up the point, and have since then been employed
in executing their retreat into Germany. The Province of
Utrecht capitulated, and the French troops entered the city
on the I yth.

The next day the Stadtholder and his family left the
Hague, and embarked in fishing boats at Schevening for
England. He had previously demanded and obtained of the
States General the dismission of his two sons as Generals
in the service of the Republic. He then requested and
received from the States General and from the States of
Holland leave of absence for an indefinite time, and declared
his intention to return and resume the functions of his
offices whenever circumstances may permit, and testified
his regret that he had not been able hitherto to serve the
Republic more effectually.

The plan of operations at Amsterdam, the execution of
which had no doubt been previously concerted so as to avoid
the appearance of a conquest, commenced on the day of the
Stadtholder's departure from the Hague.

A Dutch officer appeared with an order from the General
of the Batavian corps in the French service to the Commander
of the garrison then in that city, directing him and his garri
son to lay down their arms, and he exhibited to the Regency
a commission constituting him Commandant of the place.
The former garrison consisted altogether of troops who had
already been made prisoners of war by the French upon the
frontiers, and had stipulated not to serve against them during
the war. The Regency, sensible that any further resistance

i79sl JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 279

to defend their authority could end only in their total de
struction, directed the then commander to surrender accord
ing to the summons, and received the Batavian from the
French army as commandant of the city.

About thirty French hussars were then introduced within
the walls who took their station before the Stadthouse on the
morning of the I9th, the three-colored flag was hoisted on
that building, the tree of liberty was erected before it, and
an immense crowd of people had collected together about it.1
A revolutionary committee, consisting of ten persons self-
constituted, or at least whose origin is traced no further,
appeared in front of the house; one of their members read
to the people there assembled a list of twenty-one names of
persons, nominated by the revolutionary committee to
constitute the Assembly of Provisional Representatives of
the people of Amsterdam. He then demanded of the people,
whether they approved the nomination, and was answered
by a general shout of acquiescence. From that moment the
Provisional Representatives deemed themselves vested with
the whole power of the sovereign people of Amsterdam ;
and they commenced their functions by sending word to
the former Regency that the people had no further occasion
for their services.

Since that time they have distributed their accumulated
powers into a variety of committees, for instance, of Public
Safety, of General Vigilance, of Justice, of Finance, and of
Trade and Navigation, besides constituting a mayor to super
intend the police of the city.

1 "I have assisted (by invitation) at the grand fete of planting the new liberty
tree this day. This tree is a painted mast. I first thought the allusion was quite
lost, inasmuch as it was a mast and not a real tree; but on reflection I think the
allusion more complete, as I can almost prove it will not grow. On manque /' 'esprit
de la chosf, in my humble opinion." Syhanus Bourne to John Quincy Adams,
Amsterdam, March 4, 1795. Ms.

280 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

In all the other cities of the province a similar revolution
was effected in the course of a few days. In all, the ancient
regencies either did in fact, or by a revolutionary fiction
were supposed to have surrendered, their authority into
the hands of the people. A list of new names was always
ready to be presented for acceptance, in order to substitute
a provisional authority correspondent to that which was
annihilated, and where the approbation of the audience was
not testified by acclamations their silence was taken for
consent.

While this operation was going through the admission of
the French troops was also taking place. The internal
revolution at Amsterdam you will observe was effected on
the 1 9th of the month. The next day the General of the
Army l and the Commissaries of the National Convention
arrived, and were received as friends. The latter imme
diately published a proclamation to the Batavian people.
They declared that they came as friends and allies ; that
they would respect the persons the property and the opinions
of every individual ; that the independence of the Batavian
people should not be violated ; that in the exercise of its
sovereignty that people alone should reform or modify the
government, and that all excesses between the inhabitants
should be prevented.

In this manner was a total revolution of the sovereignty
within and the introduction of a foreign army of seventy
thousand men effected in the province, within the course of
a week, without blood, without violence, and almost without
tumult. The crisis of transition lasted but a day, and was
attended only with noise. Since then the usual tranquility
has been uninterrupted, everything about us has the same
appearance that it had before, excepting that instead of

1 Pichegru.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 281

Orange flags, and cockades, and pictures, are substituted
French soldiers, the three-colored riband, and the tree of
liberty.

But although the sovereign of the ancient constitution
was no more, its deputations constituting the States of
Holland and all their derivatives yet existed. The revolu
tion was hitherto confined to the municipal establishments,
and it became necessary to extend it to the provincial
government. The fundamental principle of the new system
was pursued as closely as could be without great incon
venience. The new municipal regencies in the several
cities deputed from each of their own bodies three or four
persons to meet together and administer the government of
the Province. These deputies from ten or twelve cities
(for the revolution was not then completed in all,) assembled
at the Hague, on the 26th of January. They took pos
sion of the Hall where the States of Holland had always
held their sessions, having first sent word to the Pensionary
Van de Spiegel, and to all the former members of the
equestrian order, that none of them would be admitted to
their deliberations. They chose Peter Paulus of Rotterdam
President for a fortnight, assumed the title of the Assembly
of Provisional Representatives of the People of Holland,
and made an express acknowledgment of the sovereignty
of the people, and the rights of men and citizens. They
also declared that as an immediate consequence from these
principles, the States of Holland and West Friesland con
sisting of an equestrian order and voting cities, as also all
hereditary offices of Stadtholder, Captain and Admiral-
General, were annulled, and they determined that the votes
in their Assembly should be personal, and not by cities.
They abolished also the Gecommitteerde Raad, and divided
their functions between three Committees of their own

282 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

body.1 They recalled all the members of the Province in
the Colleges of the Generality, and appointed three of their
members to take the seat of the Province in the States
General,2 and hold it as long as the present confederation
shall continue.

The example of this Province has been imitated in those
of Utrecht, Guelders and Overyssel. Zeeland has capitu
lated, and as soon as the passage is opened for the French
troops the new system will in all probability be adopted
there.

The troops of their friends are quartered upon the inhabit
ants of the cities. The discipline of the army is rigorous
and well observed. The only complaint I have heard against
it is its being too severe. The examples of capital punish
ment, which have been inflicted in more than one of the
cities upon soldiers guilty of the most trifling thefts, are
painful to a people among whom the penalty of death is
very seldom executed, and reserved for the most enormous
crimes.

The Pensionary Van de Spiegel,3 the Grand Bailiff of the
Hague, Bentinck,4 the deputy Greffier of the States General,
Lelyveldt, two brothers of the Greffier Fagel, and three
members of the Regency of Leyden, are under arrest. All
the members of the Regencies [are] dismissed and forbidden
upon the severest penalties to go out of the Province. Some
of them are held to be responsible for considerable deficien
cies in the public Treasuries, and others are supposed to be
liable to criminal prosecutions.

1 Public safety, war, and finance.

2 The three were Hahn, secretary of the University of Leyden, Lestevenon,
former minister to Brussells, and Loncq.

3 Laurent-Pierre Van de Spiegel (1737-1800). He was not released until 1798
and then joined the Prince of Orange.

4 Comte Bentinck van Rhoon.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 283

When the revolution shall have pervaded the seven
Provinces it is expected that a Convention will be chosen
to form a new Constitution. The sovereignty of the people,
the equality of individuals, universal suffrage, a single
Assembly and Committees, will form the basis of the
future government.

The communication with foreign countries is suspended,
and that with France is not yet fully restored. We are
therefore in a great measure deprived of external intelli
gence.

The direct commerce with the United States will I hope
be soon revived, and receive greater encouragements than
it has ever yet had. Whatever the motives of the former
government might be, it is certain that their regulations
were very unfavorable to the navigation of our country.
The friendly dispositions of those who have now succeeded
are the more unequivocal, because they rest upon the foun
dation of their interest and even of their necessities.

Among the members of the present administrations are
many of your former friends. The President of the Pro
vincial Assembly, Mr. Paulus, particularly requested me to
present you the testimony of his remembrance. Even
the cautious aversion of Mr. William Willink to public
employment has been obliged to yield to the exigency of the
times. He is upon the Committee of Finance at Amsterdam,
and reluctantly submitted to the established regulation
which permits no man to decline the task of public service
assigned to him.

The apartments of the Princess of Orange are occupied
by the Commissaries of the National Convention, who are
styled the Representatives of the French people. They
received the visit from the Minister of the United States
at Amsterdam, where he happened to be at the time of their

284 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

arrival. They assured him that they considered it alto
gether as a fraternal visit, and expressed themselves in
terms of the utmost civility towards the United States,
their President and Vice President. They appear to be
well pleased with Mr. Monroe, but as to his predecessor,1
they spoke of him too, more than once.

The General in Chief of the Northern Army, Pichegru,
is lodged in the building called the old Court. In the
course of three years he has risen from the rank of a sergeant
of artillery to that in which he now appears, and in which
he has performed a campaign unparalleled in the history of
Europe. He avoids as much as possible every appearance
of public display ; his dispatches to the Convention are
remarkable for the modest simplicity with which he relates
the most important successes, and he appears to prefer
conversing upon any subject rather than that connected
with his own exploits.

This disposition may be in some degree the result of a
natural temper, but it may be partly attributed to a system
taught by the fatal experience of so many preceding Generals.2

It is impossible to foresee what effect the events herein
related will produce upon the system of Europe. The King
of Prussia has a minister at Paris. The Imperial Diet has
determined upon a negotiation for peace. The people of
England begin to be impatient for the same object. Spain
is reduced to the last extremity and all Europe is exhausted
and tired of the desolating war in which it has been so long
involved. But the perseverance of the British Ministry,
concurring with the inveteracy of the French nation, will
produce one campaign more, and it is yet uncertain whether

1 Gouverneur Morris. The meetir.gs with the French Representatives are de
scribed at greater length in Adams, Memoirs, January 22 and February 2, 1795-

2 See Adams, Memoirs, February 3, 1795.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 285

this Republic will be permitted to remain in future neutral,
or whether it is only taken from one side of the scales to be
thrown into the other. If she ceases to be a belligerent
power, her present situation will open a very advantageous
commerce to American enterprise. If she only changes
sides in the war, an equally promising source of speculation
will be opened, but will then depend partly upon the justice
of another maritime power. The treaty signed on the
I9th of November last must before this have been the sub
ject of discussion and of decision in America. Whether
ratified or not, many important points and sources of dif
ference will remain undecided. At present it is more than ever
the interest of the island to avoid a serious misunderstand
ing with the United States ; they on their part stand upon
advantageous ground to resent any violation of their neutral
rights. The present state of affairs will make their reclama
tions for entire justice compatible with prudence, and if it
should be denied, the means of increasing their federative
strength will perhaps be in their hands.
I am, my Dear Sir, &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 25 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, February 15, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

In the Supplement to the last Leyden Gazette is contained
the address delivered by the Batavian Deputies to the
National Convention. The mask is no longer necessary.
These are the persons mentioned in my letters Nos. n and
18. They assume publicly the character of Deputies, and
are admitted as such by the Convention. The authority
however by virtue of which they act in this capacity does

286 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

not appear; it is the spring unseen which gives all the
visible motion of the Revolution in this country. It con
sists of a number, not very considerable, of individuals
belonging to different parts of the country, who concerted
secretly the mode of conducting the great political altera
tion which was foreseen ; who formed themselves into an
association under the title of the Batavian Revolutionary
Committee ; who appointed the Revolutionary Committees
of the several cities, at present the apparent fountains of the
public authorities ; and who employed these two deputies
to negotiate with the Committee of Public Safety at Paris.
At the time when these persons assumed the office of
delivering their country it was necessary for them to be as
secret as possible in their operations. But the principles
of the new system now establishing require publicity, and
the banishment of all mystery or even secrecy from the
councils of the Republic. The people are to know every
thing that is done in their name, how it is done, and by
whom. Such is the theory. By the practice hitherto the
deliberations of the new Assembly of Holland are not
accessible to the public. They publish, however, their
journals from day to day, and their laws as soon as they are
made. It is remarkable, also, that of a power founded upon
the supremacy of the people and the rights of man, the
people know not at this day whence it originated, that an
administration resting its authority upon the foundation
of universal suffrage consists of persons substantially chosen
by a small revolutionary committee, and in whose appoint
ment the people had not any agency other than that of
acquiescence, and that while every appearance of secrecy
is exploded and almost proscribed, the actors and even the
plan upon which every measure hitherto adopted has been
taken are altogether unknown.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 287

There are two objects of primary importance which this
secret Revolutionary Committee wished to secure. First,
the internal revolution which has been effected, and secondly,
some precise conditions upon which their admission of the
armies and their future connection with the Republic of
France should be founded. The first was certainly well
contrived, and has been executed to admiration. But the
negotiations with France were not equally successful, and
this was perhaps owing to their having been commenced at
a period rather too late. The Deputies did not arrive at
Paris till the close of December, when the rivers had already
been prepared by the hands of nature for the passage of
the French armies. They treated secretly with the Com
mittee of Public Safety, and probably obtained from them
a promise, as far as they could make it, that the sovereignty
and independence of the Republic would be preserved ;
but as for the rest, perhaps they were told they must con
tent themselves with a dependence upon the generosity of
the French people.

In a report to the Convention from their Executive
Committees, made some time since, it was said that the
Republic would make a peace with Holland under the
guarantee of their own forces. Even at this moment the
relative situation of the two nations remains a problem of
solution not perfectly easy.

On the 2Oth of January (ist Pluviose), the Representatives
of the French people with the armies of the North and of
Sambre and Meuse arrived at Amsterdam, and on the same
day they published their proclamation to the Batavian
people, copies of which they addressed formally to the
foreign ministers residing here. In this proclamation is
expressly said, "We appear in the midst of you as your
friends and allies. We do not come to subdue you. The

288 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

French nation will respect your independence. The Bata-
vian people in the exercise of their sovereignty can alone
change or modify the form of their government."

Yet on the 25th of January Carnot announced to the
Convention that Amsterdam was taken. On the 2yth the
Representatives with the armies write to the Convention,
that sundry places in the province of Holland are in the
power of the (French) Republic. And in the beginning of
February the Batavian Deputies address the Convention
expressly in the name of a conquered people, and appear
throughout their discourse to consider the fate of their
constituents as being still dependent upon the will of the
Convention.

They sollicit of that body to "restore the inestimable
treasure of national Independence to Holland liberated by
them," affirming at the same time, "that this is the only
means of rendering this brilliant conquest really serviceable
to France," etc.

They pray the legislators to permit the free people of the
Batavian cities and country "the speedy election of their
constituted authorities."

The two last clauses of this address are particularly
remarkable.

It is in this manner alone, it is alone by the means of magistrates
elected by the people in the provincial assemblies under the eyes
of the Representatives of the French people, that you, citizens, will
avoid all the evils which disorganization would produce, and which
would be more irreparable with us than elsewhere. On these
terms, citizens, every sacrifice will appear light to the Batavian
people. They will even eagerly anticipate every assistance which
you have a right to claim from them. The enthusiasm of indepen
dence reconquered will make them equal to everything.

Citizens, the right of conquest has acquired to you an active in-

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 289

dustrious nation, worthy of some esteem for the labours and suffer
ings which in former times they sustained for Liberty. A wise
'policy and your equity will do the rest. The Batavians deserve to
be free. In breaking their chains, their gratitude forges softer
ones for them which they will display with glory to the world.

The answer made by the President of the Committee to
this address has not been published here, nor have I seen it.
The Commissioners of the States General, Brantzen and
Repelear, wrote to the former Pensionary Van de Spiegel
a ciphered letter, in which they requested him particularly
to observe the contents of this answer. When their courier
arrived here the Pensionary was already dismissed. The
letter was therefore delivered to Mr. Lelyveld, the deputy
Grefficr of the States General. Lelyveld instead of com
municating it to them, contrived to send it deciphered to the
Pensionary. The circumstance was discovered. The new
Assembly was in consequence called together at midnight,
and sat till six in the morning. The States General were
assembled at seven. Lelyveld was arrested. Possession
was obtained of the ciphered letter and of the cipher, and
a new deputy Grefficr was appointed.

The representatives of the French people demanded that
when the seals should be taken from the papers of the
Pensionary, whom they consider as one of the bitterest enemies
of the French Republic, one of them may be present at the
inspection. The same demand is extended to the papers
of the other persons under arrest, and the resolutions have
been taken accordingly.

While the Batavian deputies were asking of the Conven
tion permission for their countrymen to constitute under the
eyes of the French representatives a provisional government,
the thing had already been done in two or three of the
provinces. It is now completed in Holland, Utrecht,

290 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Guelders and Overyssel. In all the operation is uniform,
commencing with the dismission of the regencies, and in
tended doubtless to conclude with the dissolution of the
States General, or rather their regeneration by deputations
from the new Provincial Assemblies.

The preservation of this nation's independence and sov
ereignty, at least in point of form, seems to be so generally
the inclination of the people and of their provisional repre
sentatives, that no proposition of a different system is yet
hazarded in the public papers, though the press has been
declared free. How far this national sentiment may be
strengthened in the minds of the present leaders by the
influence of private ambition, I shall not venture to inquire.
But among their soberest citizens out of office there are
some who think the happiness of the people would be best
promoted by annexing the United Provinces to the French
Republic.

Ever since the foundation of the Union the rival powers
of France and England have alternately possessed great
influence over the councils of the Republic. But the trans
actions of 1787 amounted substantially to a conquest;
from that period the government here have rather submitted
than consented to the measures proposed to them by their
allies. Under a different constitution and administration
the subserviency of the nation must remain. Their naval
power, the foundation of all their strength in the days of
their glory, is no more. Their possessions in either India,
destitute of their maritime protection and defence, can
therefore in future be held only at the will of others. Their
commerce and manufactures, which have already suffered
so much from the successful conveniences of other nations,
are declining from day to day. The energy of character,
which once distinguished the people, and was at the same

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 291

time the cause and effect of their heroic exertions and splen
did achievements, has been broken by the contagious example
of submission to foreign armies, twice exhibited in the course
of the seven last years, and the name of Independence will
only keep together a party in the Republic which would
soon be dissolved in the Department.

Such are the reasons upon which the advocates of this
policy support their opinion. It is not for me to pronounce
upon their validity, nor is it yet possible to determine
whether it will finally prevail. The present appearances
indicate the contrary. I am, etc.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 26 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, February 19, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

The President of the Provisional Representatives of
Holland sent me last evening a copy of the new law declar
ing the importation of flour free during the course of the
present war. He had told me there would even be a pre
mium added to encourage the trade, but the law simply
makes the article free. As it may be of some consequence
in the United States I herewith inclose a translation of the
publication.

That respecting the circulation of assignats is contained
in papers already sent you ; a general compulsive passing
of them will be prevented if possible.

As the majority of the Provinces was represented in the
assembly of the States General upon the new system, they
have already begun there to annihilate the institutions of
the former Constitution relating to the generality. They
began by abolishing the Stadtholdership of the union, and

292 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

by a recognition of the rights of man. They have since
abolished the council of state and the five admiralties.1
They have also sent a solemn deputation to the Representa
tives of the French people here, to propose a treaty of friend
ship and alliance between the two Republics.

The answer delivered by the President of the National
Convention to the address of the Batavian Deputies has at
length been published here in the Dutch papers. It leaves
the question as to the national independence of this people
where it was. He calls them Batavian fellow-citizens, and
exhorts them to build upon the foundations to be laid by the
French nation. The Representatives of the French people
here have repeatedly promised that the independence of
this Republic shall be respected, and such is doubtless the
system of the French executive administration ; but from
a variety of circumstances it would seem that the legisla
tive sanction is yet wanting to the plan, and that it is a
point of some delicacy to obtain it.

The deputation from the States General consisted of a
member from each of the seven Provinces and their new
Greffier, who addressed the Representatives of the French
people, and informed them,

that their High Mightinesses, together with all the Batavian
people, friends of Justice and of Liberty, ardently desire to conclude
between the two nations as two equal and independent Republics
a solid alliance by the means of a Treaty, founded upon equitable
conditions and equally advantageous to the two states, in order
to establish thereby between them the foundation so long desired,
of the closest fraternity of which the annals of the world have hitherto
made mention, a fraternity, of which it is easy to foresee and to
calculate that the consequences cannot but be extremely advan-

xThe five Admiralty Boards were those of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Zeeland,
North Holland, and Friesland. Only the first three were of any moment.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 293

tageous to the two nations, while it cannot fail to advance and
effectuate the general peace of Europe.

If these expressions are compared with the plan of alli
ance mentioned in my No. n, perhaps the outlines of the
future alliance as intended to be proposed from hence may
be inferred. The deputation was doubtless very courteously
received, as was that from the Provincial Assembly of
Holland, sent two days before for the same purpose ; but
what answer was given them does not yet appear.

Under the present circumstances it is from Paris that
you will probably receive the most accurate and earliest
information of the political system which is to govern this
country. The determination of annexing the Austrian
Netherlands and Belgium to the French Republic has been
openly professed in a speech, which was received with the
most distinguished marks of applause. "The Ocean and
the Rhine," said the orator,1 "great rivers, the mountains
and the sea must be our future boundaries ; beyond them we
are the friends of every people" This line necessarily
comprehends several important places hitherto within
the dominion of the United Provinces, and which may be
expected to be ceded by the treaty, at the same time when
the independence of the remainder will be formally acknowl
edged.

The French troops are in possession of the province of
Zeeland, and the Revolution has been effected at Middel-
burg the capital.2 The details of this event are contained
in the papers inclosed.

The system of moderation towards the members and
partizans of the former governments, which has been

1 Boissy d'Anglas. See Writings of James Monroe, II. 190.

2 February 6, peaceable possession was taken.

294 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

strongly recommended by the French Representatives from
the moment of their arrival at Amsterdam, has hitherto
been pursued with very few exceptions. At Utrecht, it is
said the members of the ancient regency and several other
persons have been put under arrest. The representatives
of the people of Amsterdam have been instigated to imitate
the example. They have not only resisted the impulse of
private revenge, but have published an address to their
fellow-citizens, detailing the motives of their conduct in
this respect, and declaring the principles upon which their
determination is founded to persist in their lenient treat
ment of the defeated party. There is indeed every reason
to hope that this policy will not be abandoned so long as the
Stadtholderian partizans remain quiet, and give no new
occasion for severity.

February 2ist. The answer of the French representatives
to the deputations from the States General and the Pro
vincial Assembly of Holland are now published. This
country it seems is still to be at war.

A further proof of this appears in the resolution taken
by the States General to notify their acknowledgment of
the rights of man, abolition of the Stadtholdership, etc.,
to all their Ministers in foreign countries, together with the
assurance that the people wish no other than a continuance
of peace, except with respect to the courts of Vienna, London
and Berlin.1

It appears probable that as soon as the revolution is
effected, and the provisional administration established
through the seven Provinces, a National Convention will be
proposed for the formation of a Constitution. The present
prevailing sentiment leads to the expectation that the
separate sovereignties will be dissolved, and that of the

1 This last phrase was an error, which was corrected in the next despatch.

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 295

Batavian people alone remain. It is to be observed that
the ideas upon the subject of government in general of that
which may be most suitable to the character and circum
stances of this people are far from being settled. They do
not even seem prepared for the elementary principles of
universal suffrage. They have so long been habituated to
exclusions upon political commercial and religious considera
tions, that it is questionable whether they will open the
door of popular prerogatives so widely, as their general
acknowledgment of the rights of man promises. In the
elections for the provisional government the people have
had no agency. The persons chosen are taken indiscrim
inately from all the Christian sects. But this political
liberality did not extend to the appointment of any Jews,
although they are very numerous in the Republic, and at
Amsterdam constitute perhaps a fifth part of the popula
tion.

It is said that a considerable part of the French army in
these provinces is to march as soon as possible upon an
expedition against Hanover. They appear indeed desirous
to withdraw all their troops from a country where at pres
ent they have no occasion to act, and where they will be
in danger of contracting habits unfriendly to their disci
pline.

But if they quit this country, the aspect of internal
affairs may perhaps be in some measure affected by their
absence. They are certainly at present the strongest bond
of union here, and as long as they remain the party opposed
to the new order of things will be quiet and silent; the case
will not be the same after their departure.

The fiscal of the Admiralty at Amsterdam and the Vice
Admiral van Kinsbergen have been arrested. Several ships
belonging to the East India Company, very richly laden,

296 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

were in the ports of England at the time when the French
arrived here. They are now detained by an embargo.1
The circumstance of their being in England is suspected to
be not accidental.

Having had occasion twice to write to the President of
the Provisional Assembly of Holland, in obedience to the
article of my instructions which occasioned my correspond
ence with Mr. Lelyveld, a copy of which I had the honor
of sending you some time since, I wrote in our own language.
Mr. Paulus noticed the circumstance, and I find it is men
tioned in the journals of the Assembly that the application
I had made was in writing, "though in the English language."
It has to them the appearance of singularity, as all their
other diplomatic correspondence is carried on in French,
and it subjects them to some inconvenience because very
few of them can read our language. I have never used it
with any one of them without their mentioning it after
wards, but as I have not felt myself authorised to tell them
it was in consequence of a positive instruction, I have never
given them any reason for the practice. It has been one
principal cause which has hitherto prevented me from
writing on the subject of the consular question, as well as
upon that of the heavier duties imposed upon our naviga
tion than upon that of the European nations.2

I have lately received a letter from General Eustace at
Paris. He assures me that he delivered to Mr. Monroe
the letter which I had intrusted to him for you, so that I

1 Two commissioners, Pasteur and Vitriarius, were sent to England to obtain
the release of these vessels and cargoes, but did not succeed.

2 The authorities allowed Adams's American letters to pass, "though under seal,"
a favor extended to no other letters, not even those of the States General to their
own ministers. "They had consented to accommodate me, because they were
well assured the minister of their friends and allies would not intrigue against them."
Adams, Memoirs, February 12, 1795.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 297

presume you will receive it in due time. The General in
his letter insinuates that the motives of his return to France
originated in his arrest while he was here. It is probable
that he was employed by the Patriots of this country to
concert measures between those at Paris and those in
Holland, as well perhaps as to obtain favorable terms from
their friendly conquerors. I am etc.

TO SYLVANUS BOURNE

HAGUE, February 22d, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

I received Mr. Monroe's letter, mentioned to you by
Mrs. Read, near a fortnight since. It is dated January 28th,
but the day before that of Mr. Skipwith to you, but it docs
not contain a syllable upon the subject which he requests
you to recommend, and indeed this affair appears to me so
very mysterious, that I think it necessary at least to under
stand and be understood before I act.

I would write to the lady herself, was I not restrained by
considerations of prudence. I must therefore request you
to answer Mr. Skipwith by the first mail, that I fully concur
in the sentiments and dispositions expressed in his letter
to you, and that I am not only willing but anxiously desirous
to contribute as far as in my power to the same purpose,
but I have no discretionary authority whatever over my
public monies ; that if I had, it would be impossible for me
to make any advance upon the single document he sent for
me ; that as the demand upon me expressly purports to be
a recurrence to our nation, it asks what as the representative
of the nation I have no power to grant ; that, nevertheless,
I will with pleasure take measures to have the sum demanded
paid according to the request, if it is desired, but that in

298 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

order to enable me even to ask repayment from the Ameri
can government, I must have some document to show that
the charge is equitable ; that at present I do not even know
what the charge would be. That if the present state of
affairs necessitates particular discretion, I will be content
with an assurance from our Minister at Paris, from Mr.
Skipwith, or from the lady herself, that I shall in future be
provided with documents to warrant a solicitation for in
demnity on my part. That if nothing of this can be done,
I will, if the lady will consent, have the money paid and
consider it as a private debt repayable by her or by whoever
receives it.

I know not a human being upon earth entitled upon so
many principles, and by such imperious obligations, to the
exertions for relief of every American citizen, the inhabit
ants of Boston particularly, and of me individually, as
the person to whom this demand may be supposed to allude ;
and it is painful to me that the request comes under circum
stances which compel me to a moment's hesitation or delay.
But compliance to the thing required of me is impossible,
and I think I cannot execute another thing as a substitute,
without knowing whether it will answer as such.1 . . .

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 27 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, February 25th, 1795.

. . . March $th. The province of Friesland is now
represented in the States General regenerated. That
Assembly have appointed two Ministers Plenipotentiary

1 This letter relates to a request made in favor of Madame de Lafayette, but her
name was not mentioned.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 299

to the French Republic,1 one of them is the same person who
some time since addressed the Convention as a Batavian
Deputy. The object of their present commission is for
mally to demand again an alliance between the two Repub
lics as free and independent nations.

Three of the Professors at the University of Leyden have
been dismissed. One of them, Mr. Pestel, has been distin
guished by several works relating to the Constitution of this
Republic. Even the temple of the Muses is no sanctuary
now, and the Patriots upon this occasion imitate an example
of similar exclusion heretofore given by their adversaries.

The States General have published an address to the
troops proposing to them a new engagement. By way of
attaching them to the new system they promise that in
future the soldiers shall not be subject to the discipline of
blows, that they shall be free to marry without being
obliged to obtain the permission of their captain, and that
promotion in future shall be conferred only upon merit or
experience, and not by favor.

Some of the adherents to the former government to coun
teract the operation of these regulations say, that they are
not sufficiently liberal and think that the choice of the officers
should also be conferred upon the troops.

The prospect of a general pacification, which has appeared
opening during the course of the winter, becomes daily
more distant and obscure. At present a campaign no less
violent and bloody than the last appears probable. The
Emperor, assisted by a loan of money made in England,
and another loan at Vienna, together with a free gift from
the States of Hungary, seems determined upon a last and

1 Jaques Blauw, a former magistrate of the city of Gouda, and Caspar Meyer,
a former consul-general of the United Provinces at Bordeaux, were named ministers
plenipotentiary near the French Republic to negotiate a treaty of alliance.

300 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

violent exertion to obtain honorable terms of peace from
the French Republic. The King of Prussia negotiates for
a general negotiation, and makes some scruple to sign a
separate peace. He will perhaps continue the war through
the ensuing season as he did through the last, and it is
questionable whether the French will carry the war much
further into his dominions.

One would not suppose that the present is a moment for
indulging the ambition of conquest in this country. Yet
from the vicinity of Westphalia and the Duchy of Olden
burg the dominant party contains individuals who are of
opinion, that the French Republicans will very soon under
take and perform this conquest, and then annex these
territories to the Batavian Republic. Some of them sup
pose that the expedition said to be directed against Hanover
is really destined against East Friesland.

On the second of this month the States General took the
resolution that the act of guaranty of the Stadtholdership
passed in the year 1787 should be immediately burnt. They
ordered their agent van Hees to commit the instrument to
the flames in their presence. He preferred asking his dis
mission from the office he sustained, and his request was
immediately granted. They appointed in his stead a per
son 1 who had been dismissed from the same station in
consequence of the Revolution in 1787. . . .2

1 W. Quarles.

"The war with Great Britain can no longer be doubted, and indeed it has not for
a long time been a subject of question in my mind. The preparations for a cam
paign as fiercely contested as the last appear to be making on all sides, and yet the
combatants begin to parley. All most devoutly sigh for peace, and the remainder
of the war will perhaps only prove a fruitless waste of human life.

"It appears to me that the value of our neutrality becomes doubly precious, and
it has the singular advantage of being favoured by the interest of all the belligerent
powers. As the friends of all, our commerce will be much more serviceable to each

i79Sl JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 301

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 28 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, March lyth, 1795.

DEAR SIR :

Our foreign communications except with France are still
interrupted, so that I have neither the means of receiving or
of conveying foreign intelligence. The Danish Minister
here sends a courier who will pass through Hamburg, and by
his kindness I have an opportunity to send my letters there,
uncertain when they will go from thence.

As to this country a profound tranquility is the principal
circumstance that characterises its present internal state.
The States General still retain their forms and their name, for
the purpose of preserving without intermission the chain of
their connection with foreign nations ; but the members who
compose that assembly have undergone a total change.

of them than our assistance could be as confederates. If engaged on cither side,
we could give but little help to our party, and little annoyance to our enemy.

"I believe that the government of Great Britain has discovered that the policy
of adding us to the number of their enemies would at the present juncture be un
wise. If the treaty signed on the I9th of November has been ratified, it may prove
the foundation of the return to that good understanding which our interest and
inclinations equally lead us to preserve with all the commercial nations of Europe."
To Syhanus Bourne, March 12, 1795. Ms.

"As the vessels from America now arrive with some frequency, I presume you
will pursue the plan, which you mentioned your intention of commencing with the
new year. I wish the law required that the registers and manifests should all pass
through the consul's hands, for I sec no other practicable means of collecting the
tables of our commerce in detail, which our government require. I should think,
however, that the present situation of affairs, which necessitates perpetual applica
tions to you, from the captains and merchants concerned in our commerce, offers
a favorable opportunity to establish by degrees the custom of delivering the registers,
which I think the law recommends, and which is really practiced in other ports,
as in London for instance, where I understand it is universally complied with.
Perhaps the good will of the broker might facilitate much the introduction of this
salutary usage." To Syhanus Bourne, March 14, 1795. Ms.

302 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Six of the provinces are now represented under the new
arrangements, and the representation from Zeeland may be
expected daily to complete the confederacy, the former
deputation having some time since been recalled.

This Assembly and the several Provincial Assemblies of
the Republic are still employed in abolishing the institutions
of the former Constitution and substituting other arrange
ments in their stead. The President of the Assembly of
Holland, in a speech after the completion of his third presi-
dence, mentions the general system upon which the Revolu
tion is conducted. The exterior forms (he says) of the
Legislative part of the Constitution are used to operate a
complete change in the Executive part which, when new or
ganized, will supply the means of effecting the same altera
tion in the Legislative.

The administration of the military force by sea and by
land under the former Constitution was cumbrous, like all
the rest of that system. It has now been simplified and put
under the direction of single committees. Mr. Paulus is
president of the Marine Committee, and as his talents for
this administration have heretofore been found essentially
serviceable to one of the Boards of Admiralty, it is expected
that his talents will be of infinite service, as the sphere of their
employment will now be co-extensive with the Republic.

The situation of this country's naval power has already
been stated to you. The list of ships published by authority
under the old government named forty-three men of war
and thirty-five frigates as the number of the existing navy ;
of these not more than fifteen of each were in commission,
and of those in commission not more than a third part are
now fit for being sent into action. The foundation for a
respectable force however exists, and the importance of
this department for securing permanency to the revolution

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 303

is well known to those now having the direction of affairs,
as appears very clearly by their placing the most prominent
character of the Revolution at the head of it.

There is reason to suppose that the exertions which will
unquestionably be directed to this question will be productive
of effect more than appears to be expected. The system of
neglecting the maritime force and suffering it to perish by
degrees was essentially connected with, and the natural
effect of, a subordinate intimacy with the self-entitled rulers
of the waves. To court their friendship, to deprecate their
resentment, or to secure their protection, nothing could be
more effectual than to lay aside the means of being formi
dable to them ; and, accordingly for the space of the last
forty years, in peace and in war, whether leagued as allies,
opposed as enemies, or indifferent as neutrals, the deadly
torpor of a political opiate has incessantly been infusing
into every vein and artery of this naval constitution, while
the siren song of family affections has always been added to
charm its sensations as they weakened, and gently soothe
into the slumber of death.

But now an opposite system will undoubtedly direct the
policy of this Republic, and the principal exertions of the
nation will be applied to their maritime affairs. But nothing
can be done without money, and the public treasuries are
empty. A loan of eight millions is ordered to be furnished
by the city of Amsterdam within the space of a month, at an
interest of three and a half per cent, and will undoubtedly
be furnished. Similar and proportionable contributions
will, perhaps, be levied upon the other cities of the province.
The burden may possibly be thought severe, but it will not
be intolerable.

In the meantime the fate of the country still remains
undecided. The French armies are still here as conquerors,

3o4 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

and the substance of independence is not so scrupulously
observed as its forms. The property of the Stadtholder
was considered for some time as being comprehended un
der the protection promised by the proclamation of the
French Representatives, but it is now declared to have
become the spoil of the conquerors. This arrangement
however carries with it nothing very disagreeable to the pres
ent administration here. They are not much disposed to
regard the losses of a family which they so cordially detest,
and perhaps they think themselves well rid of an administra
tion to property encumbered with debts beyond its value.
This will prove no inconvenience to the French, who take
the estate but leave the debts to be paid by the former owner.

By the forms of the present system, whatever the French
government choose to have done is notified by the French
Representatives here to the Assembly of the States General.
They take their resolutions accordingly, and the execution
is by the common authority of the country. For military
affairs the generals possess the supremacy of notifying.

In the substance the people are subjected to the usual
consequences of conquest. More than a hundred thousand
soldiers are quartered among the people. It is a grievous
affliction, but is borne with as much composure as may be
expected. An heavy requisition of clothing and provisions
has been levied. It was painful, but the articles were
supplied. The greatest difficulty has been respecting the
introduction and circulation of assignats. It was a favorite
object here to obtain exemption from the necessity of making
them forcibly current ; people of all descriptions dreaded
them, and it was for some time hoped that there would be
an arrangement on the subject to give general satisfaction.

But the troops must be constantly supplied with sundry
articles, and they had nothing but paper to pay for their

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 305

purchases. At length a law was enacted by the provisional
assembly of Holland which directed the acceptance of the
paper in payment for necessary articles furnished to the
troops. The intention was to circumscribe the compulsive
circulation within those limits, and the law declared that the
holders of the paper under this regulation might deliver it
over to the municipalities of the towns. The assignats
are valued at nine stuivers to the livre, which is very nearly
equivalent to the nominal value. But the latter part of the
law is not hitherto executed, and the holders, of course,
are not perfectly satisfied.

I am this day informed that the new deputies from Zeeland
have taken their seats in the States General so that the
representation under the new arrangement is complete
from all the provinces. . . .

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 29 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, March 9 [19], 1795.

The course of affairs during the operation of so great a
change as that which is taking place in this Republic natu
rally produces various extraordinary measures and regula
tions, some of which affect immediately more or less the inter
ests of other nations. The dispositions of the new Adminis
tration are certainly very friendly towards the United States.
They are not studious to contrive laws whose operation,
though general in words, may point in reality against our
commerce alone. They are not inclined to be employed as
the instruments of others' hate, to injure us from subservi
ency, and to throw every possible impediment in our way
from submission to others rather than from malevolence

306 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

against us. They are not the passive agents of a deliberate
system to cramp the growth of the United States, and to
delay as long as possible the inevitable day of their national
power. They receive no impulse from external resentment
or fear relative to the prosperity or the principles of the
transatlantic Republic. But the necessities of their situa
tion at the present moment have, in some instances, occa
sioned an interruption to the enjoyment of the neutral
and stipulated rights of our fellow-citizens.

A law was published some time since relative to the circu
lation of the French assignats, and containing also a prohibi
tion under severe penalties against the exportation of specie
from this province. It forbids all persons going out of its
bounds from carrying any more with them than a sufficiency
(to be ascertained by the municipalities of the place from
whence they depart,) for the expenses of their intended
journies. There are at this time several citizens of the
United States at Amsterdam who arrived lately, bringing
with them sums of money with the intention of proceeding
into Germany upon pursuit of their commercial affairs, and
they have not been able to obtain permission from the mu
nicipality to take with them the money they brought here,
upon the supposition that it is forbidden by the law before
mentioned. Upon meeting with the difficulty from the
municipality, Mr. Bourne wrote me requesting me to make
application on the subject to the government here.

I saw the President of the Provisional Assembly of
Holland and represented to him the circumstances, assuring
him I was persuaded an erroneous construction had been
given to the clause in the law, and that it was not intended
to operate in a manner inconsistent with the stipulations
contained in the treaty.

He said there was certainly no such intention. That there

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 307

was meant to be left a discretionary power with the munici
palities to authorize strangers travelling through the country
to carry with them whatever money they had brought into
it. That if, however, the scruples of the municipality at
Amsterdam should continue, it would still perhaps not be
necessary for me to apply to the States General on the
occasion, as the law would in all probability very soon be
repealed. It was only a temporary regulation which had
already answered as far as could be expected the purposes
for which it was made, and was therefore no longer necessary.

Two American vessels arrived in the course of the winter at
the Texel have hitherto been prevented by the ice from pro
ceeding to Amsterdam.1 At present the French comman
dants in the ports where they are, will not permit them to
finish their voyage without passports from the representatives
of the French people. Upon my mentioning this fact the
President said it must be owing to some mistake. He said
he would speak to the French representative, Alquicr, the
only one still remaining here, and requested me to do the
same, if I thought proper, in order to remove this incon
venience at present and anything of the same kind in future.2

I requested of the Representative Alquicr, first verbally,
and afterwards in writing, an order to the commandants at
the places where the two vessels are detained to permit them
to depart and complete their voyage to Amsterdam, and
also proposed to him to give a general order to all the French
commandants in the ports of the Republic, by virtue of
which the captains of vessels belonging to citizens of the
United States may in future, upon presenting to the com
mandants their sea letters or passports prescribed in the
treaty of commerce subsisting between the States General

1 The Concordia, Captain Bysand, and the Complanter, Captain Cahoon.
'Adams, Affmoirs, March 9, 1795.

308 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

and the United States, enjoy the liberty of commerce and
the navigation stipulated in that treaty.

He said that as to the two vessels in particular, there
could not be the smallest objection to the expedition of the
passports, but that under the circumstances of the present
moment an indispensable necessity dictated measures to
prevent the departure of any vessels bound to foreign ports.
" We are yet in this country" (said he) "as conquerors, or at
least we occupy it, and we are obliged to employ some ex
traordinary means of precaution which we have concerted
with the government here."

I told him that the United States being sincere and
cordial friends to both the French and Dutch nations, I
could assure him my fellow citizens would not be inclined to
raise reclamations against the measures of prudence or pre
caution, which are commanded by the necessities of an
extraordinary occasion, even if their operation should involve
some temporary inconvenience to us. But at the same time
I hoped and believed our friends would not extend these in
conveniences any further than absolute necessity should
require, and that every possible facility would be afforded
to a commerce so beneficial to the interests of all parties.

He said that in the course of a short time, perhaps a few
days, an entire liberty of navigation would be restored, and in
the mean time, if any captains of American vessels were
desirous of sailing and would inform me of their wishes, it
might facilitate their departure. That no unnecessary
restrictions would be imposed, and every possible facility
be given.

The principle upon which the French have proceeded
since their conquest of these provinces is, that they came as
the friends of the people and the enemies of the govern
ment. One of its deductions is, that although they leave

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 309

private property untouched that of the government be
comes the property of the conquerors, as well as that
of the other governments with whom they are at war
which they find here. And as part of this property consists
in vessels laying in the several ports of the Republic, they
think it necessary to allow none to depart without first
ascertaining whether it is not, upon the system which they
have adopted, an object of seizure.

March 24. A general arrangement is at length agreed to
by the Representative Alquier, in consequence of which
our navigation and commerce in this country will not, I
presume, meet with any further obstructions. I inclose
herewith a copy of my correspondence with him on this
subject, and of his order to the commandants.

Although this correspondence does not come within the
article of my instructions which prescribes to me the exclusive
use of our own language, I am not without my apprehensions
that, in using any other language upon any occasion when I
write in my official capacity, I may be really departing in
some measure from the system upon which that direction
was given me. Your instructions in this instance command
me not to lose a particular right, and so far I shall certainly
follow them. If it is the intention of the President that I
shall never vary from the exercise of the right, I shall scrupu
lously observe the order from the moment it shall be notified
to me.

If it be an established maxim of the Government of the
United States that all the correspondence of their servants
shall invariably be carried on in their own language, it shall
never be varied from by me after I shall once be informed
of the fact. As this inference may be drawn, though it is
not indispensable from that clause of my instructions, I have
thought myself authorized on these occasions to use the

310 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

French, as an accommodation to the persons to whom I
wrote, and have therefore always written to the French rep
resentatives here in that language.

I have had occasion repeatedly to make application to
them upon occurrences so inconsiderable as not to deserve a
particular notification of them to you, and in which nothing
more than some particular convenience of an individual
fellow-citizen was to be obtained. They have always re
quired a demand in writing, but upon every occasion I have
found them ready to give every facility that has been
required of them in behalf of citizens of the United States,
and their assurances of good will and fraternity, which
never fail of being repeated with the utmost apparent cordi
ality, have hitherto been as invariably attended by the sub
stantial proofs of their sincerity in the compliance with
everything demanded of them.

I have the honor, &C.1

TO JOHN ADAMS

DEAR SIR: THE HAGUE, April i, 179$-

Since the date of my last letter, February 12, nothing
very material has taken place in this country. The cus
tomary tranquility has been uninterrupted, and the Patriots
of the present day have been proceeding with moderation
towards their first object, the annihilation of the govern
ment that has hitherto existed.2

1 With the country in the singular position of being at the same time conquered
and independent, the regulations proved at times confusing. The American minis
ter was obliged to treat with two authorities, the government of the country and the
Representative of France, and in treating with the latter his functions appeared to
deal with questions properly under the American minister to France, James Monroe.
No dispute over authority arose between the two ministers.

2 "With respect to internal arrangements, the Revolution is to be considered as
distinct from the Conquest. The principles may be conceived from the following

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 311

I say the Patriots of the present day, because the party is
not exactly the same, as it was in the time of your residence
here. The operators of the present revolution are to be
considered rather as a detachment from the old Patriots,
whose principles they have abandoned altogether and substi
tuted others in their stead.

This circumstance gives the clue to account for the total
silence and obscurity in which such men as Mr. Van Berckel,
Van der Capellen, Gyzelaer, and many others, formerly
considered as the principal characters of the patriotic party
and the greatest sufferers by the Stadtholder's victory in
1787, have continued and still continue amid the great
political changes now taking place in their country. One

statement. The French nation, having conquered the Stadtholdcrian government,
establish the Liberty of the Batavian people, who receive this blessing from their
hands as a present. The first use they make of it is to abolish every part of the con
quered government, reserving only the States General for the present, in order to
preserve without interruption their relations with foreign nations. The municipal
governments are all destroyed, provisional municipalities, elected by the people,
are substituted in their stead. Provincial assemblies are constituted, consisting
of deputies from the new municipalities. The provincial assemblies abolish the
former provincial states, and all their appendages, as also the Stadtholdership of
each province. The States General, who are continued merely in point of form,
consist of deputations from the provincial assemblies. So that the change of men
is universal; of forms considerable, but not total; of substance very small indeed."
To William Short, March 31, 1795. Ms.

"It is well known to you that secrecy is considered as an essential ingredient
of the commercial policy of this country. It forms the character of their public
institutions, and it is taught as an elementary principle of education. No details
of commerce are published by authority. The public offices are not gratuitously
or legally accessible. The only source of information on this head is, the knowledge
of individuals. There are great numbers of merchants who are in possession of the
information, but whose habits and principles are equally powerful to persuade
them from making any communications. This system of concealment so univer
sally prevails, that the subject upon which men of genius, science and general in
formation in this country, other than professional merchants, are found to be the
least informed, is that of the national commerce." To the Secretary of State,
April 2, 1795. Ms.

312 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

article of creed at the present day is, that all the dissensions
in the Republic heretofore have merely been struggles for
power and office between two cabals, a wicked faction
with Orange and a wicked faction without; that both have
been equally regardless of the rights of man and the happiness
of the people ; that now the principles are changed, and the
sacred love of universal liberty is the only motive which
inspires the actors upon the scene.

The ancient Constitution therefore must be destroyed, or
rather it vanishes before the light of a single luminous prin
ciple. It was founded on the rights of princes, of nobles, of
corporations, of the church, in short upon a motley jumble of
every possible right, except the only rights upon which any
legitimate government can rest, the rights of man.

Such is the present logic of the party. It has been
adopted by the great number of the ancient Patriots, because
it is conformable to the fashionable doctrines of their libera
tors, and because it is supposed there is a seed of rapid
propagation contained in it which will strengthen the party
with numerous additions from the populace, who have
generally been partizans of the House of Orange.

But the reasoning is not conclusive to the minds of all
the old Patriots. They say that the theory of their govern
ment was indeed absurd. But that in affairs of government,
as well as others, the pride of human reason must often
submit to the lessons of experience. That under this govern
ment, cumbrous and inaccurate as it was, the people have
enjoyed two hundred years of prosperity. That it secures
to the possession of every individual a greater share of
personal liberty, a greater degree of security to property, and
a more liberal range of opinions, than has commonly been
found in other governments hitherto. In short they adhere
still to the ancient Constitution, and reluct at a total change

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 313

upon the usual and natural reasons which operate against
violent political innovations.

Thus you will observe, Sir, that a schism among the
Patriots has taken place, similar to that which in England
has been noticed by the distinction between the new and the
old Whigs. But as far as private opinions, compressed and
restrained by an armed force, can be traced, the Patriots have
not gained real strength in point of numbers by this change
of principles.

Under the prevalence of the new theory all the former
functionaries have been removed. The ancient forms have
been abandoned or retained, according to the dispositions
of the several new institutions. Instead of the Provincial
States provisional assemblies to represent the people have
been formed in all the provinces, and all pompous titles
are laid aside, except those belonging to the States General,
which are retained only for the purpose of preserving the
relations of the country uninterrupted with foreign nations.

A committee of the States General is appointed already to
draw up and present a plan for the formation of a National
Convention, to represent and to make a constitution for the
whole people.

The jealousies of towns and of provinces will impede the
formation of such a government still more than the ani
mosities of party. Facilis descensus Averno. The Patriots
have hitherto done nothing but cut away and pull down.
If they really intend to erect a Republic one and indivisible,
founded upon universal suffrage, a single assembly and com
mittees, which appears to be their plan, they will not succeed.

I mentioned in my last letter that on the arrival of the
French Representatives at Amsterdam, they published a
proclamation declaring the liberty and sovereignty of the
Batavian people, and at the same time expressing the inten-

3H THE WRITINGS OF [1795

tion of the friendly invaders to repress all excesses between
the inhabitants. They have carried this intention into full
effect, and indeed the precaution was necessary. Their
interference has more than once been requisite, to preserve
individuals of the defeated party from severe treatment, to
say the least.

The recollection of the past and anticipation of the future
equally contribute to exasperate the present possessors of
power against their adversaries. It is remembered that
the victory in 1787 was not enjoyed with moderation. It
is foreseen that violent struggles will be made in future to
recover what has recently been lost. The possibility of a
return to the former dominion is affectedly denied, and hence
its probability is forcibly felt. The conquered partizans
emboldened by the lenient treatment they experience
do not disguise their hopes, and as their only present con
solation, love to intimidate by threats. Revenge and terror
rankle in the hearts of those who have suffered from op
pression, and are now in possession of power. They are
restrained from action only by the presence of their armed
liberators, and the tranquility of the country has no security
so effectual as the protection of the French armies.

The States General have appointed two ministers plenipo
tentiary, to solicit and negotiate an alliance with the French
Republic.1 They have been some time at Paris, but have
not yet been received in their characters by the National
Convention.

A war with Great Britain is supposed to be inevitable.
The naval force of this Republic was found reduced beyond
all imagination. The five admiralties have been abolished
in common with all the other institutions of the ancient
constitution.

1 See p. 259 supra.

i79sl JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 315

The administration of maritime affairs is intrusted to a
Marine Committee, and upon the new organization of the
navy only six ships of the line have been put in Commission.

The finances were found in a state of ruin, rather than of
disorder. The want of money was perhaps purposely
prepared by the former government, by way of precaution.
To provide for present necessities, a loan of eight millions
has been imposed upon the city of Amsterdam, and similar
resources may be sought from the other parts of the Re
public.

The military preparations, however, proceed with languor,
and meet with numerous difficulties, and the necessity of
peace is forcibly felt here and in every part of Europe.

The neutral navigation and commerce is freed from its
former shackles and invited by encouragements. The
States General have removed all prohibitions. In this
Province flour and rye meal will be admitted free from
duties during the course of the present year. The scarcity
of grain and flour is great throughout Europe. In France
it is extreme.

Paris has again been in a state of agitation. The Con
vention seems to lose its popularity. They have very lately
passed a law to provide against the case of their own dissolu
tion by violence. It enjoins on the contingency of such an
event, that the members who may escape from the hands of
the assassins, together with the complementary members from
the departments, shall assemble at Chalons sur Marne, and
collect from the several armies a force to protect their
deliberations. By the last accounts from Paris the city was
more quiet than it had been a few days before.

The rumors of peace between France and Prussia are
frequent, but not yet authenticated. The event is con
sidered, however, as probable. It appears certain at least

316 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

that the Prussian army has been withdrawn from the banks
of the Rhine, and that the French troops have retired from
the Prussian dominions bordering on this country.1
I am &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 32 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, April 7th, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

The Provincial Assembly of Holland have published a law
requiring the inhabitants to furnish all their plate to be
coined for public use.

The plenipotentiaries in France have not yet been ad
mitted by the Convention. It is supposed they meet with
difficulties which prevent the conclusion of the proposed
alliance. The Patriots say that it is only a disagreement
as to certain articles to be inserted in the treaty. The
other party pretend that the alliance has been peremptorily
refused.

A few days since a report was circulated at the same time

1 "The manner in which all the present authorities in this country were formed
opens an inevitable source of discussion and dissension as to the limits of their
several functions. All the forms and many of the principles of the ancient constitu
tion were abandoned. A semblance of approximation towards popular forms was
substituted, but no permanent principles have hitherto been established." As
an example he cites an oath of fidelity prescribed by the Provincial Assembly, to be
taken by the members of the several municipalities, and also by all their executive
agents. Amsterdam and Leyden objected, and the latter protested on the ground
that "the Government is at present merely provisional, the child of the moment,
and was never intended to be established as the constitutional government of the
country; that it is very unequal in its principle, as it gives to the most incon
siderable village in the province a number of suffrages equal to that of the rep
resentation from the capital." The answer to this protest was the arrest of
Schimmelpenninck and five other members of the municipality. To the Secretary
of State, March 27, 1795. Ms.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 317

throughout the province, that peace was concluded between
F ranee and Prussia, that by one of its articles the French had
stipulated that their troops should all be withdrawn from
this country, that in consequence of this agreement they had
already begun to quit the frontier, and that as they retired
they were immediately followed by the Prussians, who would
very soon be at the gates of Amsterdam. It was propagated
with so much industry and believed with so much credulity,
that in all the large cities the partizans of the former govern
ment began to lay aside the three-colored cockade ; the
songs peculiar to the party were publicly sung, and the symp
toms of seditious practices were so great that it became
necessary to keep nightly patroles in the streets, and to make
examples among the populace of those who had been the
most conspicuous in instigating the disorders. There can be
no doubt that this popular fermentation was purposely
raised by way of experiment, but by whom does not appear,
nor indeed is it easy to discover from which of the parties it
was provoked.

It serves to show the degree of stability usually attributed
to the present government, when a mere report, destitute
of probability no less than of foundation, could produce
riotous appearances throughout the province. A judg
ment may be formed what would be the consequence of the
French army's withdrawing in reality.

The destiny of this country may be represented in a very
few words, submission to a foreign military or civil war. A
foreign power may govern very peaceably in the name of
either party, but neither has sufficient strength to rule in
quiet without external assistance.

The party now in employ, though probably the most
numerous of the two, needs this assistance still more than the
other because, having no center of union, no constant attrac-

3i8 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

live force drawing them together, they are discordant among
themselves. They can assimilate only for purposes of
hostility against the other party, their common enemy. But
the moment they become victorious all the jealousies of
provinces, of towns, of individuals and families, assume their
full force, impede every measure proposed, and render their
government languid, lifeless and, in the eyes of the people,
contemptible.

The truth of this observation has been proved by the
perpetual tenor of this nation's history since its existence as a
republic. Every occurrence of the present times tends to
the same issue. In my letter written before the catastrophe
of the late government mention was made of the general
principles upon which the Patriots then proposed to erect
their Constitution on the ruins of the Union of Utrecht.
At the first moment of the revolution in the transports of
joy common to all the party, there were some appearances
which indicated an united intention to dissolve all the par
ticular corporate privileges and distinctions into the general
mass by a new Constitution founded upon universal liberty
and equality. Hence the acknowledgements of the rights
of man and citizens proclaimed by all the Assemblies.
Hence the original resolutions of the Provincial Assembly
that the suffrages of that body should in future be counted
by persons and not by cities ; hence the forms of popular
election observed in constituting the present authorities.

This unanimity prevailed only during the moment of
mutual gratulation. The same Assembly which had estab
lished the maxim of personal suffrage contrary to the
practice of the former States of the Province, which had
admitted representatives from all the villages unrepresented
in the States, which had declared the sovereignty to be the
right of the whole people and equality to be that of all

i79S] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 319

individuals, within a month afterwards decided that Amster
dam might send what number of representatives its munici
pality thought proper, but that only four of them could
be allowed to vote. The same number of votes is allowed to
each of the other cities, so that the comparative representa
tion of Amsterdam is reduced even lower than it was under
the former government.

The municipality of Amsterdam was dissatisfied with this
decision, but submitted without remonstrating upon the
presumption that the provisional Assembly would soon be
dissolved, and that under the new arrangement the capital
would be entitled to a representation proportionable to its
population. But soon after the provisional Assembly pre
scribed an oath of fidelity to themselves, and required it
should be taken by all the members of the subordinate
authorities. The municipality of Amsterdam refuse to take
the oath and an open breach ensues between them and
the provisional Assembly. This circumstance has already
been related. The arrested members have since been re
leased, a suspension rather than accommodation of the dif
ference has been mutually consented to. Some concessions
have been made on both sides, but the oath has not been
taken, and the parties are not satisfied with each other. The
root of bitterness is planted and will shoot out in every
direction.

The same spirit of jealousy has already manifested itself
between the provinces. The total deficiency in the finances,
general and particular, has been represented, and is equally
felt by all the members of the Union, but they do not agree
upon the measures to be taken for filling the public coffers.
Six of the provinces in the States General have consented to
the proposal of opening a loan of twelve millions of guilders
in the name of the Union. But the province of Holland has

320 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

declared itself very explicitly against this proposition be
cause the burden of the debt would fall upon that province
only, and the Provisional Assembly have substituted to
answer the same purpose the law demanding all the gold
and silver of the inhabitants with certain exceptions. The
express condition is, however, annexed to the execution of
this law that it shall be adopted by the other provinces, which
will probably not be complied with. The treasuries will still
remain empty and other resources will be suggested, discussed,
and rejected.

This call for gold and silver is already received very un
favorably within the province. The municipality of Am
sterdam consider it as bearing with unequal weight upon that
city ; the regencies of the other cities, consisting generally of
persons upon whom this tax will operate more than upon
the mass of the people, will raise objections against it, and
the legislative assembly will again be obliged to hunt for
expedients. If a suspicion should arise from these observa
tions that the affairs of the country are seen through a prej
udiced medium by the writer, the perusal of an address
from the States General to the several provincial Assemblies
will serve to shew how far the facts are demonstrated, and
how far the opinions are rational. It is contained in the
Leyden Gazette herewith inclosed.

The consequence of this internal disunion proceeding from
many different sources is that the country must be governed
by a foreign power. The harmony, which has hitherto
subsisted between the French government and that which
has arisen under their auspices here, is already less cordial
than it was in the beginning. But in the supposable case
of a difference between them the reasons of France will
necessarily prevail. Under the present circumstances their
protection is indispensable and must therefore be purchased

i79S] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 321

at any price. The reports still prevail of an armistice
between France and Prussia. The French army of Sambre
and Meuse have withdrawn from Emmerich, and retired
from the Prussian dominions bordering on this country.
The Prussian Army has also quitted the banks of the Rhine
and marched into Westphalia. The sieges of Luxemburg
and Mentz are, at present, the only military operations
going forward in this quarter, but it is expected the cam
paign will soon open more extensively, and on the part of
Great Britain and the Empire it will be pursued, it is said,
with the peculiar energy that characterizes the last effort
for the attainment of a favorite object.
I am with great respect, &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY

[OLIVER WOLCOTT]

THE HAGUE, April loth, 1795.
SIR:

Upon my arrival at Amsterdam in November last, the
situation of the funds of the United States in Europe and
the established mode whereby provision was made for satis
faction of the calls for payments of interest so frequently
returning at Amsterdam and at Antwerp were altogether
unknown to me. As the subject had not been mentioned
in my instructions I presumed that it was not considered as
requiring particular attention from me, and as the circum
stances have rendered some intervention on my part neces
sary, I take the liberty of inclosing herewith my correspond
ence relative to the payment of the interest due in December
upon the Antwerp loan.

During my first visit to Amsterdam one of the holders of
the Antwerp obligations, who was at that time a refugee

322 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

from Brabant, came to me and inquired whether the in
terest usually paid by Mr. De Wolf in December could not
be paid at Amsterdam or elsewhere. I mentioned the cir
cumstances to Mr. Hubbard, and then learnt from him
that the interest payable by Mr. De Wolf had hitherto
been annually remitted by the Amsterdam bankers, but
that it had not been sent as usual for the payment then
approaching.

Within a few days after the 1st of December I had several
applications from the creditors of the Antwerp loan similar
to that I have already mentioned. I thought it necessary
to pay attention to a circumstance which might interest
in some measure the credit of the United States, and wrote
on the yth of the month to the bankers at Amsterdam, as
may be seen together with their answer in the papers in
closed, marked No. i.

As they had not received their usual orders to remit the
money, and I had no authority to give them, the matter
rested in this situation until the 3ist of the same December.
They wrote me that they had then received their orders to
make the remittance, and had informed Mr. De Wolf they
would supply him so soon as the remittance should be allowed
by the government of this country. The engagement to
make the remittance was considered by me as sufficiently
positive, but it was made contingent. The obstacle arising
from the prohibitions of the government here had not been
mentioned before, and I presumed it was not insuperable ;
but it strongly confirmed me in the opinion I had already
formed, that my particular attention to this business would
be proper and necessary, though I had no particular instruc
tions relative to it.

I knew the remittance was still impracticable, not for the
reason mentioned in their letter, but from another fact of

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 323

which I had recently been informed and which is noticed
in my answer to the Bankers dated January I3th. This
letter and answer together with their reply are comprised
within the mark No. 2 of the inclosed copies.

On the I9th of January the French troops arrived at
Amsterdam, and from that time the communication with
Antwerp was restored and the prohibition against the trans
mission of money ceased. On the same day I had with
Messrs. William Willink and Hubbard a conversation in
which the former gentlemen made the observations which
I related in the last letter I had the honor of writing you,
dated February 2d. These observations were variant from
the letter of December 3ist, new reasons were alleged for not
pursuing orders received, and I was convinced beyond all
question that my particular attention to the affair had be
come an essential part of my duty. But all the same I had
so little hope of obtaining the transmission of the money
that in my letter of February 2, will be found my decided
opinion, that in case Mr. De Wolf should soon be liberated
the payment of interest due on his loan would depend upon
his power to advance the money.

Though the observations of Mr. Willink so soon after the
letter of December 3 1 st were somewhat unexpected, I thought
it unnecessary to enter upon a discussion on the subject,
and observed only that Mr. De \Volf being in captivity it
was still impossible to send him the money, and while I
expressed my full approbation of several other arrangements
which they had taken at that critical period, and which
they communicated to me, at the same time I kept an entire
silence as to this particular determination.

On the nth of March I was informed that Mr. De Wolf
was again at liberty, had returned to Antwerp, and was
expecting the remittance from Amsterdam to pay his inter-

324 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

ests due in December. I wrote the next day to the bankers,
and a correspondence ensued, marked No. 3 in the within
copies, which terminated in a positive refusal by them to
send the money to Mr. De Wolf. This was indeed what
I had expected, and what I presumed it would be impossible
for me to counteract, destitute as I was of orders and even
of authority.

Hitherto there had been no communication whatever
between Mr. De Wolf and me upon this business, but at the
same time when the letter from Amsterdam of 17 March
was delivered to me I also received one from him of the 16,
the copy of which herewith sent is marked No. 4.

I did not feel myself authorized to accept the proposal
to borrow money at an interest for this payment, but the
offer gave me an argument which I was persuaded would be
more convincing to the minds of our bankers in engaging
them to make the remittance than anything I had before
been able to use. A second correspondence took place, the
copies of which are under the mark No. 5, the result of
which was that they authorized Mr. De Wolf to draw upon
them for the money.

The remaining copies within, marked No. 6, are of letters
which afterwards passed between Mr. De Wolf and me.
They only serve to show the termination of the business.
From the perusal of the whole correspondence an accurate
judgment may be formed of the dispositions, at Amsterdam
relative to the Antwerp loan, and from the whole course of
circumstances which have occurred in this transaction I am
obliged to repeat an observation made in my last letter,
that nothing beyond the line of the most rigorous duty will
ever by done by those gentlemen to facilitate the payment
of that interest. I may add that so far as the punctual
fulfillment of that obligation is an object worthy of attention

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 325

to the United States, and so long as it is made dependent
upon any agency of theirs, it becomes indispensable to give
them no plausible reason to hesitate a moment in making
the remittances according to their order.

Since the affair was finished I have received the letters
which you did me the honor of writing me on the 1st and 5th
of December last with the duplicate and triplicate at the
same time. They came with a letter from Mr. Pinckney
urgently demanding a remittance of 303,115 [florins] accord
ing to the bill of which your letters advised me. I wrote
to the gentlemen at Amsterdam on the subject. They have
answered Mr. Pinckney, and sent him a draft for £3000
sterling, as being the only unengaged balance belonging
to the United States in their hands.

They suppose that the principal object of the bill was to
place the funds out of the reach of danger, and as the danger
which might be contemplated at the time when the bill was
drawn is now past, they think it unnecessary to send the
whole amount of the bill. I presume from your favor of
December 5th and from Mr. Pinckney's letter to me, that
the money was intended for some particular employment,
but when they say they have not the money to send, the
only part left for me is acquiescence.

There will considerable payments become due on the
first of June. I presume the gentlemen at Amsterdam will
be prepared for them.

The two millions which were proposed to be borrowed to
be at the disposition of the Minister at Lisbon seem to be
altogether out of the question. The previous advice from
him has not been received, and could probably not be fol
lowed by a successful loan if it were. Business of all kinds
is very much at a stand. There is at the present moment
no sort of confidence in anything, but perhaps that of public

326 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

loans is more essentially impaired than any other.1 Be
sides the calls for money for internal exigencies are so
numerous and so imperious, that there is no prospect of a
return of the superfluity from whence the public loans were
heretofore supplied.

I have taken occasion from my correspondence with Mr.
De Wolf to inquire of him, whether there is any probability
that a loan of two or three millions may become practicable
at Antwerp very soon. His answer makes the circumstance
dependent upon a variety of contingencies, some more and
some less probable than others. He has however requested
to correspond occasionally with me upon the subject of
American credit, and I presume will give me the earliest
intimation of any occurrence that may take place favorable
to the success of any loan that might be proposed.

The zeal of our bankers at Amsterdam for the honor and
interest of the United States needs no stimulus, but it will
never be more active than while credit may be obtained and
is deserved at Antwerp.

I have the honor, &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 33 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, April 14, 1795.
DEAR SIR:

The popular commotions at Paris mentioned in a late
letter, of which the scarcity of provisions is represented
as the pretence, and the intrigues of the Jacobin party as the
cause, became from day to day more alarming until the first
of the present month, on which day a very numerous col-

1 American 5 per cent stock was quoted at 92, though the interest was nearly
due. In June they reached 97 @ 98 ex interest.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 327

lection of people forced the doors of the Convention, filled
the Hall of its session for several hours, interrupted every
member who addressed them by vociferations for bread, and
finally retired upon information that the armed force of
Paris was marching to the relief of the Convention. When
the freedom of deliberation was restored to the Assembly
they declared the city of Paris to be in a state of siege, and
gave the command of the Parisian army to General Piche-
gru, who happened then to be in Paris, where he had re
cently arrived to concert arrangements for the ensuing cam
paign, previous to his assuming the command of the Army
of Rhine and Moselle. The most liberal extension was
given to his powers for the purpose of restoring order and
tranquility, but this special authority was to continue only
so long as the danger which existed.1

The process which had been carried on with certain for
malities against the four members 2 of the former Com
mittees was abruptly broken off, and a decree was passed
that they should be immediately transported out of the
Republic.

Eight members among the most violent of the remaining
Jacobins were ordered to be arrested and sent to the castle
of Ham in Picardy, and although every effort was made to
prevent the execution of these decrees yet it was finally
effected, and on the 5th instant nine more members of the
Convention were ordered under arrest. From the most
recent accounts it appears that the public tranquility is
restored, and that General Pichegru was on the point of
setting out to join the army.

The object of those by whom this insurrection was insti
gated is generally said to have been the dissolution of the

1 Insurrection of 12 Germinal (April i), the reaction from the Jacobin "terror."

2 Barrere, Collot d'llerbois, Billaud Varennes and Vadier.

328 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Convention. It is probable that the subsequent purpose
was very different among those who combined together in
this transaction ; that of the Jacobins to restore the reign of
popular societies and Revolutionary Committees, and that
of the Royalists to crown the infant prisoner in the Temple.
That a plan of the latter kind was connected with the events
of that day appears probable from various circumstances.
I have already mentioned the symptoms of sedition and prel
ude to insurrection, which took place at the same moment
throughout this province. It is now known that it appeared
equally in the other provinces of this Republic, and it was
on the same day and at the same hour when the attack was
made upon the Convention at Paris. What connection
it had with any Prussian negotiation now on foot is impossi
ble for me to discover. The armistice between the Prussian
and French armies had at that time commenced. The
French had quitted the Prussian territories beyond the
Rhine on the frontiers of this country. The Prussian army
under General Mollendorf was marching into Westphalia.
A report was propagated with a confidence which seemed
to make the very improbability of the fact an argument for
its truth, that the French armies in this country would
immediately withdraw, and that the Prussians were already
within this territory.

This conjuration of Prussians was it seems equally used
at Paris, where it was reported there were 30,000 of them
in the Bois de Boulogne, only four miles out of the city ;
and absurd as the story was, a member of the Committee
of Surety General thought it necessary to go personally
to the place in order to ascertain what was the fact.

There is indeed a negotiation of public notoriety proceed
ing between French and Prussian ministers at Basle, and the
present armistice is generally supposed to be simply prelimi-

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 329

nary to the conclusion of a peace. If the hopes of the
Orangeists or the fears of the Patriots here, hopes and fears
neither of which are avowed, but which neither party can
disguise, could be admitted as proofs, it would be certain
that the situation of this country is the principal object of
their negotiations. In every other respect the parties are
supposed to be agreed.

The hopes of the ancient Court party are that the French
by the treaty will stipulate to withdraw their troops and,
without interfering with the affairs of this people, merely
abandon the party triumphant hitherto by their protection.
This is all they wish, and they are perfectly sanguine that
in such case the Stadtholdcr would be restored and the
present government annihilated in less than a week of time.

On the other hand the plenipotentiaries have not been
received by the Convention, and the Committee of Public
Safety with whom they are negotiating demand conditions
to the conclusion of the alliance almost impossible to per
form, and which have given an alarm to the Patriots,
which is the more plainly seen from the endeavours to con
ceal it. One hundred millions of guilders to be paid in
specie, a loan of an equal sum, the ships which compose the
relics of their navy, the fortresses on their frontiers, such
are the demands which though now reduced by one-half
are still considered as an intolerable price for an alliance that
is indispensable. Yet even these terms will be submitted
to, grievous as they are, if the alternative is to be abandoned
to their own defence. The French government can un
doubtedly prescribe its own conditions, but if they insist
upon receiving even the one hundred millions, they must
promise the services of their armies here to ensure the
collection of the money.

The disunion among the people here and their dissatis-

330 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

faction with the government as it now stands increase from
day to day. The calling of a national convention is yet
much talked of, but the present possessors of government do
not appear anxious to be relieved from their burden of public
authority, or to lay aside the extraordinary weight of re
sponsibility that rests upon men who, under a semblance
of popular election not remarkably accurate or regular, have
torn up by the roots an ancient Constitution, and established
in its stead a temporary dominion, equally variant from the
former practice and the present theory, a dominion the
measures of which must perpetually recur for justification
or excuse to the necessity of the case, and which nothing but
the present prospect of its speedy termination renders for
a moment tolerable.

At any rate, and under any course of events now within
the bounds of probability, this Republic may be said to be
irretrievably ruined. For besides the sums required by
France, one hundred and twenty-five millions of guilders
are necessary to supply the payment of arrearages due by
the former government. With a commerce stagnated, with
manufactures scarcely extant, with public payments sus
pended, with a country which has just suffered the invasion
of an enemy, and the most destructive protection of an ally,
subjected at once to ravages of war and the ruin of inun
dations, with a people divided into two parties, nearly
equal, inveterate against nothing so much as one another,
with a dominant party discordant among themselves and a
national character timid, irresolute, averse to sacrifices and
considering property as the most precious of all human
blessings, the most sanguine Patriot can discover in the
future destiny of this country nothing but subjection, aggra
vated by the recollection of its former glories, and wretched
ness, embittered by the memory of its former opulence.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 331

The expedition from Toulon supposed to have been in
tended against Corsica is abandoned. A partial engagement
between the French and English squadrons in the Mediter
ranean has taken place. The former have lost two ships
of the line and taken one.

The misunderstanding between the courts of St. Peters
burg and Berlin becomes more accredited from day to day,
and it is probable that the King of Prussia has reason to
take umbrage from a negotiation, the object of which is an
alliance between Austria, Russia and Great Britain.

It is this day reported that a courier has arrived, bringing
to the French Representatives in this place intelligence,
that a peace has been concluded between the Republic of
France and the King of Prussia.1

I received two days since a letter from Mr. Pinckney of
March 3Oth, in which he mentions his intention to proceed
in about a fortnight from that time upon his mission to
Madrid. He sent me by the same conveyance a packet
from the Department of State containing the newspapers
to the I9th of December.

I have the honor &c.

TO ABIGAIL ADAMS

THE HAGUE, April 25, 1795.

It has not been without difficulty that the ardour of the
popular Societies has been suppressed by the superior
energy of their new ally's friendly counsels. These popular
Societies seem destined every where to grow as a monstrous
wen upon the body of Liberty. In this country there is
scarce a town or village ever so small in which they have

1 A treaty was signed April 5.

332 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

not sprung up since the Revolution ; but hitherto they have
been harmless, because they have been impotent. When
the French armies entered the province of Holland, the com
missioners of the Convention published a proclamation
promising to respect the independence of the Batavian
people, but declaring at the same time that they would
repress all excesses between the inhabitants. The only occa
sions upon which they have been obliged to carry this de
termination into effect has been furnished by the popular
Societies.

It has been more than once proposed to me, and even
urged upon me to become a member of that which has been
formed in this place. I have excused myself upon the
ground of being a stranger, and of the impropriety which
I should commit in taking any part personally in the politics
of the country. This answer has been sufficient, but not
satisfactory. The Patriots here say that they are our only
friends ; that the Orange party detest us, and therefore that
we are not equitable in preserving a neutrality between
them.

As to the dispositions of the Orangeists, there is too much
truth in the assertion of their adversaries. The Court party,
and all the former governing party here, never look upon
the United States but with eyes of terror and aversion,
sometimes shaded with a veil of affected indifference, and
sometimes attempted to be disguised under a mask of respect
and veneration. I speak not of an universal sentiment.
There are exceptions among the thinking and respectable
part of the faction ; but my reference is to the general senti
ment of that class. I have had repeated opportunities of
observing it, and if the situation of the whole party had been
such as to admit of any sentiment relative to them but com
passion, I believe I should have been disposed before this

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 333

to return them all their gall, and to exult in the foundation
of their fears. But their humiliations, from the time when
I arrived to this day, have been such as would disarm any
enmity but that of party. I have therefore invariably
avoided every act that could be charged with partiality
favorable to the Patriots, as against the others, not from
regard to them, but to my own duty.1

It was, therefore, unnecessary for me to look for motives
to justify my refusal, to the principles upon which I have an
aversion to political popular Societies in general. To de
stroy an established power these Societies are undoubtedly
an efficacious instrument. But in their nature they are fit
for nothing else, and the reign of Robespierre has shewn
what use they make of power when they obtain its exer
cise. . . .

Our American Jacobins, I imagine, will be puzzled to fix
upon their creed as to French affairs. I question whether
they will give at full length the debates in the Convention
of the present time. If they do, you will perceive that
Jacobin Clubs, Sans Culottism, Demagogic (if we have no
word to express this idea, it is not for want of the thing,)
and all the madness and all the hypocrisy, which it was so
long a fashion to profess and to admire, are now rated at
their true value. There is however one fundamental
political error, from which France has not yet recovered ;
it is the unqualified submission, and the unwise veneration
for the opinion publique, which is in its nature inconsistent
with any regular permanent system of government or of
policy. Until they have the courage to explode this doc
trine, they will not only be without a constitution, but
totally destitute of the means of forming one. . . .

1 Adams, Memoirs, February 12, 1795.

334 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 35 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

AMSTERDAM, May ist, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

The immediate destiny of this country remains unsettled,
and as no events of material importance become public,
there is little intelligence to be given that deserves communi
cation. The fate of this country and indeed of all Europe
appears to be suspended upon operations, the course of
which is not at present discovered. Curiosity, faction, and
interest are busied in every part of Europe to penetrate, to
color, and to invent measures of policy for the sovereigns of
this hemisphere. Every hour of the day has its rumor,
which becomes more or less accredited, and among the nu
merous and contradictory reports which are all circulated
with the same degree of confidence, it is extremely difficult
to distinguish between those which are founded in truth, and
those that are false.

My last letters have mentioned the circumstance of at
tempts at sedition, practised at the same time on the first
day of the last month at Paris and Amsterdam, as well as
in many other parts of France and Holland. The immediate
occasion which produced the riotous symptoms here was a
report, that peace had been concluded between France and
the King of Prussia, and that the French had by the treaty at
least determined to abandon the party who have recently
under their auspices effected a revolution of government
here. It was indeed true that at that time a treaty of peace
was upon the point of conclusion between those two powers,
and that it has since been signed and ratified. But its
public articles contain no arrangement whatever relative
to this Republic. It is probable that the secret articles

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 335

are equally silent upon the subject, or that they postpone
the definitive arrangement until the period of a general
pacification.

But the present government find themselves very much
distressed by the situation of their affairs. The alliance
with France which they have been so long soliciting is not
made; the conditions for it amount to no less than a con
siderable dismemberment of a territory already so small as
to be very ill qualified to suffer diminution. The mutual
dissatisfaction between the parties is daily increasing. The
demands which have been made by the Committee of Public
Safety as the basis of the alliance are so great, so burdensome
to the interests, and so derogatory to the independence of
the people, that the opinion is not without plausibility,
which supposes they are intended only for the purpose of
postponing any positive engagement whatever, and that
the French policy is to keep the affairs of this country really
in their own hands, so that they may be at any time arranged
in such a manner as may be most advantageous to the in
terest of France.

The King of Prussia, besides his intimate and double
connection with the Stadtholderian family, is with Great
Britain bound by the treaty to support the Constitution
of this Republic as it was settled in 1787. The party of the
former government here became more and more sanguine
in their hopes that he will restore the Stadtholder by means
of an armed force. They are still convinced that it has been
a subject of negotiation in the late treaty, and that the
French have by secret articles consented to the return of
the Stadtholder. The universal opinion of the party is in
itself of no weight. The utmost extravagance of a fairy tale
is the essence of probability, in comparison with the stories
which these people receive and propagate with equal eager-

336 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

ness every hour of the day. But in this instance there are
circumstances which serve to give at least a color of plausi
bility to their hopes. The most important of these cir
cumstances are the difficulty raised against the conclusion
of the French alliance and the conduct of the King of Prussia.
With respect to the first I have mentioned the reasoning
that is held ; the latter has certainly a suspicious appearance
to say no more. The army under General Mollendorf is
stationed in Westphalia, close upon the frontiers of this
country and within three days march of Amsterdam. The
question is why has that Army been placed there ? It is
not an usual station for an army, and since the peace with
France they cannot be left there to protect the territory,
since that can be in no danger. The conclusion drawn from
this argument is, that this army is destined to restore the
Stadtholder.

There is a rumor current at the Hague of a fact still more
decisive. The present States General have sent letters of
recall to most of the public Ministers of the former govern
ment, and among others to Mr. de Reede, the Minister at
Berlin. The report is, that when he presented those letters
to the King of Prussia his Majesty told him to pay no sort
of attention to them, that he should still consider him as the
Minister of the United Provinces, that he did not acknowl
edge the present pretended government of this country,
and required him to give them notice of it. Whether this
account is accurate or not I have not been able to ascer
tain, but I have reason to suppose it not without founda
tion.

The reasoning upon these premises stands thus. The
King of Prussia is bound by the treaty to guaranty the
ancient Constitution of this country, that is to protect the
Stadtholder. The French have expelled the Stadtholder,

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 337

and the present government have abolished the office. But
France and Prussia have made a peace ; that peace necessa
rily implies either that France shall abandon the Dutch
Patriots, or that Prussia shall abandon the Stadtholder.
The conduct of both parties furnishes evidence that the
former has been done. The French government avoids
all engagements with the Patriots, which can entitle them
to demand a continuance of assistance. The King of
Prussia formally refuses to recognize the present govern
ment there, and has sent a powerful army to be ready when
ever he shall think proper to enforce his disavowal.

These circumstances have perhaps contributed to main
tain and to strengthen the opinion which is very common
here and in France, that the governments of that country
and of Prussia .are agreed upon the restoration of the Stadt
holder and of the former government here. But on the other
hand a member of the Committee of Public Safety has most
explicitly declared that the rumor was utterly destitute of
foundation, and that it was invented and propagated by a
calumny equally malignant and absurd. It is also said to
be as unequivocally for the interest of Prussia, that the
Patriots here should be supported, as it is for that of France.
The restoration of the Stadtholder would only give these
provinces again to Great Britain. This is well known to the
Prussian Cabinet by experience. Since the Revolution
of 1787 the British government has been much more absolute
at the Hague than in London, whereas that of Prussia, so far
from possessing the smallest particle of influence, has been
repeatedly unable to obtain justice upon several complaints.
Prussia might have prevented in all probability the success
of the French armies and their arrival at Amsterdam, had
she been so disposed, and it is the utmost extravagance to
suppose that what neither of the two powers would do,

338 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

merely to avoid or prevent the expulsion of the Stadtholder,
they should now have agreed to for his restoration.

I am informed from persons to whom the true state of
affairs is certainly known, that the alliance with France is
expected to be brought to a conclusion within a week or ten
days. Should this expectation be realized, the present
order of things in this country will doubtless acquire a stabil
ity which it has hitherto wanted. If it should continue to
be delayed, the rumors and suspicions I have mentioned will
acquire some small degree of probability. It is at least
certain, as I have already had the honor of writing you more
than once, that the present administration will accept the
treaty upon any conditions be they what they may, and
therefore if the Treaty is not soon finished, it will be because
the French government are determined not to conclude.

The national sentiment in this country is universally sub
ordinate to the spirit of party. On my arrival here I was
somewhat surprised to see an invaded country, in which
one half the nation was panting for the success of the in
vaders, and placing the summit of their happiness in being
conquered. The actors have since changed, but the scene
is the same ; and I still see one half the nation whose only
hope consists in the prospect of being conquered again. The
hatred of the opposite faction is stronger than the love of
country, and this political passion is so universal, that the
only individuals I have met with who could be named as
exceptions are equally obnoxious to both parties.

The European horizon, which has for a moment had the
appearance of clearing up, seems at present to threaten a
deeper gloom than ever. Russia is said to be upon the point
of a rupture with the Turks and with Sweden, perhaps with
Prussia. The Baron de Stael has been received by the Na
tional Convention, as ambassador extraordinary from the

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 339

King of Sweden with the French Republic. The Russian
system is well known, and although it must eventually
clash with that of Great Britain, it is supposed that those
two powers are like to unite from the coincidence of their
present immediate pursuits. Thus the empire of the earth
and of the ocean is to be attained in concert, and divided
by agreement, and the question which of the parties shall
eventually grasp the whole to be left for the decision of
futurity.

I have the honor &c.

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, May 4, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

Air. Wilcox has not yet been here, but sent me from Ham
burg your favor of February II, which was the first letter I
have been happy enough to receive from you since we left
America. When he comes here, I shall be happy to show
him every civility in my power.

It is extremely pleasing to hear that the elections for the
ensuing completion of the Senate have been so favorable. I
believe the time is approaching, when even the triple brass
of political impudence will melt away before the wisdom of
the pacific and neutral system, which struggled with so
many interests and so many passions before it could gain a
firm establishment.1 Only one letter from me had been

1 "All the clouds which appeared to be gathering so thick round our horizon
seem to be dispersing, and I hope we shall not again, during the present European
convulsions be exposed to the danger of sliding or being drawn into the war. The
system of neutrality, which struggled so hard with foreign influence, foreign inso
lence and injustice, as well as with internal faction and rapacity, before it could
obtain a solid and immovable footing, has proved as glorious to the honor, as it
has been advantageous to the interests of the United States. There never was
a war more ruinous than the present has been to all the parties engaged in it.

340 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

received by the Secretary of State, when you wrote. I had
at that time written nearly thirty, twenty of which might
have reasonably been supposed by me to have arrived on
the nth of February. I have sent my letters not only by
every vessel that has been known to me from this country,
(and I have taken particular pains to be informed of every
opportunity,) but from France, from England, from Ham
burg and from Bremen. How many of my letters miscarry
in the conveyance it is impossible for me to say; but the
state of Europe since I came here, and especially the situa
tion of this country, have been such as renders the trans
mission of letters extremely precarious. For the last four
months almost we have been secluded from the regular means
of communication with all Europe excepting France, and
no dependence to be placed upon the security of that.
Nothing can be committed to post offices, where the practice
of reading the letters is so openly professed, that nobody
thinks of sealing a paper sent through that channel. En-
Sweden and Denmark are the only European powers of any magnitude, that have
been able to preserve their nationality, and they are now reaping largely the bene
fits of so wise a policy.

"It is to the example of the American government that they are indebted for hav
ing preserved it, and this fact is incontestible, for I have heard it avowed without
hesitation by some of their official characters, certainly well acquainted with the
truth." To Dr. Thomas Welsh, April 26, 1795. Ms.

"A little wisdom and a little moderation is all we want to secure a continuance
of the blessings, of which faction, intrigue, private ambition and desperate fortunes
have concurred in exertions to deprive us. The government of the United States
need not even appeal to the judgment of posterity, whose benedictions will infallibly
follow those measures which were the most opposed. The voice of all Europe
already pronounces their justification; the nations which have been grappling
together with the purpose of mutual destruction, feeble, exhausted, and almost
starving, detest on all sides the frantic war they have been waging; those who have
had the wisdom to maintain a neutrality have reason more than ever to applaud
their policy, and some of them may thank the United States for the example from
which it was pursued." To Abigail Adams, May 16, 1795. Ms.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 341

trusting dispatches to the care of individuals is but little
more safe. It exposes them often to delays, to carelessness,
and even to total failure. With all these inconveniences I
have sent since my arrival nearly forty letters to the Depart
ment of State alone, and shall continue to write by every
opportunity that occurs from hence, and as frequently as
may consist with common prudence through France and
England.

The information that my first letter was satisfactory, was
extremely pleasing to me, because it shows that it was re
ceived with an indulgence which all my correspondence will
need. I have, indeed, had little apprehension of incurring
the censure of writing too little. My principal fear has been
lest the charge of an opposite fault should be applicable, that
of repeating many times the same observations, and descend
ing too much into the detail of minute circumstances. In
spite of the best possible inclination, too, and notwithstand
ing admonition from you and intimation from Mr. Randolph,
I have sometimes given a latitude to opinions upon actors
and events, which perhaps will be thought indiscreet. How
ever this may be, I presume the style of my correspondence
must be tolerably well known by this time, and if any mate
rial variation is desired, it will doubtless be intimated to
me.

The political sufferings of Messrs. Van Staphorst had no
more effect to the detriment of our credit than their present
power has in its favor.1 It did not, indeed, affect their per-

1 Of Van Staphorst and Hubbard he wrote to Short, April 18, 1795 : "The house
remains as usual ; but the member of it, who was so lately compelled to leave
Amsterdam and seek refuge in voluntary banishment, was at the time when your
letter was written a member of the municipal government of the city, and is now
in the legislative assembly of the province. Revolutions you know are the order
of the day." On Hubbard's attempt to go to England see Adams, Memoirs, May
6-8, 1795.

342 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

sonal credit or property. Mr. Nicholas van Staphorst, who
on my arrival here had privately withdrawn from the pursuit
of the then government, is now a member of the States
General and employed in some of the most important execu
tive committees. He is one of the most respectable men
engaged in the public affairs at present.

If the situation of an American Minister at the Hague was
not in its nature and on all common occasions tolerably
insignificant, it would have been rendered so by the partic
ular situation of the country since I have been in it. When
I first arrived the government was an agonizing patient in
the hands of Lord St. Helens. His skill was ineffectual,
however, to save ; the patient soon expired, but its soul
survives and waits in impatient expectation of a glorious
resurrection. The very name of Anglomane had been long
since entirely lost. I assure you, I have not heard the word
pronounced since I have been in the country. And indeed
as the circumstances were, that name would have been
ridiculous. As well might the Helots of Lacedaemon have
been called Spartomanes.

At that time my situation was as unpleasant as it was
unmeaning. It was impossible for me not to perceive that
I was surrounded with that sort of malevolence, which a
West India faithful African may be supposed to bear
/towards the enemy of his master. It appeared in every
shape. It was shown by the whole hierarchy of servitude,
from the President of the States General to the hairdresser,
from the General Pensionary to the laquais de louage. To
this general fact the only total exception that I can mention
was the Stadtholder himself. I had no business to transact
with him, saw him only as a point of form, and not more
than three or four times. I had every reason to be satis
fied with his reception. From all the rest it was ill-will,

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 343

always covered with forms of decency, often aiming at the
disguise of politeness, but never successfully concealed.

Since the arrival of the French armies all these appear
ances have changed. A friendly disposition, a desire to
accommodate, a respect and regard for the United States
really felt and professed with pleasure, distinguish the
present from the past possessors of power. Personally my
situation is far more agreeable than it was, but nothing is
to be done.1 The country is conquered; its forms of inde
pendence have hitherto been more or less preserved, but
they may be laid aside whenever their friends shall think
proper, and have already been many times in contradiction
with the substance. The government rose upon the basis
of French protection ; that alone continues its existence
and with that it would infallibly vanish. It has become
almost universally odious to the people who consider it
as in fact more oppressive than that which preceded. The
French Convention have not acknowledged it, and may
withdraw their protection, which is the breath of its life,
whenever they find it for their interest so to do.

The restoration of the Stadtholdcr sooner or later is
inevitable, and with him must come again the subserviency
to the mistress of the sea. In every political point of view
the Republic will in future be nothing more than a part of

1 "My situation has indeed been as you suspected, difficult and embarrassing;
during the first three months it was unpleasant. But I have not been under any
necessity from a dictate of duty to quarrel with any one; and though I have had
many temptations, I have as yet found no inducement to discover any partiality
towards cither of the parties. Each of them has been in its turn, not the pilot,
but the rudder of the political ship, and the persons with whom I transacted my
first business are all dismissed, expelled, or imprisoned. How long it will be before
the course of the Revolution will again reverse the scene of political exaltation and
abasement, I shall not pretend to say; but it may be observed with truth that it
depends upon the policy of others, and not in the minutest particle upon any agency
of their own." To Charles Adams, May 17, 1795. Ms.

344 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

France or of Britain. I am expecting orders from the
Secretary of State for my own regulation, and until I shall
receive them I shall not venture to transact any business
whatever. . . .

Among the mille et une revolutions of France, the union
of the Jacobins and the Royalists is one of those at which
our Jacobins will perhaps be, or affect to be, the most
surprised. That they are at present united in the object
of their pursuit is unquestionable. That they will succeed
is far from being improbable. The alliance of anarchy and
despotism is perfectly natural, and the leading members of
the Convention are convinced at length that Democracy
will answer the purpose of declamation much better than
those of government. "II faut se depouiller des prejuges
de la Revolution," says Thibaudeau, "car si la Revolution
a detruit des prejuges, elle en a aussi enfante." But they
have not yet got over their passive obedience to the opinion
publique of the moment, and of course they still proscribe
what they adored, and adore what they proscribed in the
interval of a single day. Such a system may properly be
styled a democracy, but to call it a government would be
making a violent misapplication of words.

I am, &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 37 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, May 14, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

On the third instant the National Convention authorized
the Committee of Public Safety to send two members on
a secret mission, and in consequence of this authority the

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 345

citizens Sieyes l and Rewbell arrived here on the 8th at the
same time. The other Representatives who had been in
mission here,2 but had for some time past absented them
selves from the Hague, returned, and the General in Chief
of the Army of the North 3 came from Utrecht on the same
day. A deputation from the States General of four mem
bers has been appointed to confer with the French Repre
sentatives and has been very busily engaged with them
to the present day.4 The object of this negotiation is
secret, and the conjectures relative to it are various. But
as most probably none of the conjectures will be verified by
the event, it is scarcely worth while to detail them. The
circumstances would seem to indicate that the final agree
ment upon the relative situation in which France and this
Republic are to stand is the principal point. Hitherto all
is unsettled. The parties on both sides were very much
dissatisfied, and even the forms of independence which
alone had been preserved here were violated in so unequiv
ocal a manner and so frequently, as to have become a
subject of derision. The present administrators of this
government have renewed their hopes since the arrival of
the present representatives, and suppose that the treaty
which is to proclaim and acknowledge the independence of
the Batavian people will be concluded in the course of very
few days.

In the meantime everything here is in a state of stagna-

1 He described Sieyes as appearing "to be between forty and fifty years of age,
middling stature, spare person, pale countenance, strong features and bald head;
dress simple, but neat, manners cool, approaching to the asperate." To Abigail
Adams, May 16, 1795. Ms.

2 Charles-Jean-Marie Alquier (1752-1826), Charles Cochon de Lapparent (1750-
1825), Joseph-Charles-Etienne Richard (1761-1834), and Jean-Pierre Ramel (1768-
1815). Richard came from Utrecht, and Cochon from Amsterdam.

3 Jean-Rene Morcau (1758-1795). 4 The names are given on p. 384, infra.

346 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

tion. The new government has been arrested in the midst
of their own exertions. They have not been permitted to
proceed in the new organization of their army and of their
fleet, and as the British have at this time the undisputed
command of the channel and of the North Sea, the commerce
of Holland is almost entirely intercepted.

The law calling for all the gold and silver of individuals
has been carried into execution in this province, but as the
final period of delivery has not yet come it is not known
whether it has been productive of any considerable quantity.

We hear but little at present of the intended National
Convention. The design of calling one is not abandoned,
but that like everything else depends upon the conclusion
of the French alliance, which is yet in expectation.

The probability of a continental peace continues. Spain
has not yet concluded, but it is expected she will very soon.
A neutrality from the northern part of Germany is secured
by the Prussian treaty.

Two additional articles contain the limits agreed upon for
the preservation of this neutrality. I have the honor of
inclosing a copy of them. The sieges of Luxemburg and
Mentz appear to be the only remaining hostilities that
designate a state of war. The armies of all the powers at
war are everywhere else in profound tranquility. The
object of France, it is said, will be to open the campaign
by directing the most formidable attack against the Austrian
dominions in Italy.

At sea nothing very remarkable has taken place since the
action in the Mediterranean.1 The arrival of several ships
from Brest at Toulon has once more given the superiority of
force to the French in the Mediterranean. Lord Hood,

1 The ineffective attack by Vice-admiral Hotham upon the French fleet under
Admiral Martin, March 12-14, 1795.

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 347

however, has since sailed with a detachment to join the
British fleet there,1 which if effected will again restore them
to an equality, or perhaps a small superiority. Several
French captains and other officers have arrived here. They
are to take the command of the ships belonging to this
Republic. This is one of the articles the most painful to
the feelings of the new government here, and which it is
said is insisted on as a preliminary to the conclusion of the
treaty.

I have visited the Representatives newly arrived as has
also been done by the other neutral Ministers. The citi
zen Sieyes in the course of conversation inquired what was
the object of the treaty signed by Mr. Jay with the British
Ministry.

" It is a treaty of commerce and its object is also the termina
tion of differences which had arisen between the United States
and Great Bristain." "Relative to the forts ?" "And to several
objects of difference. The navigation and commerce of the
United States had suffered during the present war. The treaty
probably contains arrangements upon the subject." "But why
is this treaty still secret?" "It has not yet been ratified, and
the local situation of the United States with respect to Europe
renders it peculiarly proper that the ratification should precede
the publication of the teaty." "Very well for the time necessary
for the ratification, but after the time which is sufficient has elapsed
it is thought extraordinary that a treaty of commerce, and a treaty
which may also relate to other objects, should remain secret.
Among the public in Paris there are people who make it a subject
of speculation and conjecture that the United States are waiting
to see what the success of the war will be, and will ratify or reject
the terms proposed by the treaty according as the events of that
may turn." "You know, citizen, that among the public in Paris

1 This must have been an error, as Hood was not in favor with the ministry at
this time.

348 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

as among the public in all places there are people who speculate
upon every event, and are very apt to draw conclusions utterly
destitute of foundation. The case is such in this instance. The
treaty in question did not arrive at Philadelphia until after the
session of Congress had come to a constitutional close. I am
informed, however, that the President of the United States has
called the Senate together for the purpose of submitting the
treaty to their deliberations, and it has therefore been merely
the result of accident if the only article yet public in Europe is
that which stipulates that nothing in the treaty shall be construed,
so as to militate with any previous engagement of either party."
"And the ratification has been debated by this time ?" "Or will
be in a very short time."

The conversation is related as accurately as my memory
will permit, because one of the other Representatives spoke
to me upon the same subject some time since, and these
repeated interrogations indicate either a suspicion, or an
intention to be supposed suspicious, that some stipulation
interesting to France is contained in the treaty. . . .

I have the honor, &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 39 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, May 19, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

I have now the honor of inclosing a paper, containing
the substance of the articles forming the treaty signed on the
morning of the iyth instant, between the French Repre
sentatives Sieyes1 and Rewbell2 and the deputies from the
States General, Paulus, Lestevenon, Pons3 and Huber.

1 Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes (1748-1836).

2 Jean-Francois Rewbell (1747-1807).
* Matthias Pons.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 349

The event serves to confirm the observation I have made
in my preceding letters, that whatever terms might be
exacted on the part of France would eventually be con
sented to in this country.

The terms of this treaty are as advantageous to France
and as burdensome to this people as the possibility of execu
tion will admit. But from the habits and feelings of the
persons composing the present administration, Maestricht,
Venlo, Dutch Flanders and one hundred millions of florins,
arc no object in comparison with the danger of a Stadtholder.
The point respecting the command of the ships of war ap
pears to have been abandoned ; the French captains who had
arrived at Rotterdam have returned. By the treaty the
stipulation only purports that in case of combined opera
tions the commander shall be French. It is somewhat
questionable whether the engagement to furnish during this
campaign twelve ships of the line and eighteen frigates for
the North Sea and the Baltic will be practicable.

It is hardly supposable that this treaty will fail of obtain
ing an immediate ratification by the French National Con
vention.1 The great object of internal policy represented in
a statement dated February 27, to which I beg leave to refer,
may be considered as effected. The internal object, the
calling of a National Convention to form a constitution of
government for the Batavian people, may now be pursued.
It is to be presumed that it will meet with the earliest
attention, but whether the plan of completing this business
immediately will prevail, or that of postponing these politi
cal arrangements until a time of peace and tranquility will
be preferred, is yet to be ascertained. The Treaty makes
this country a party to the war with France against the
combined powers. The country is exhausted, and yet the

1 It was ratified May 27.

350 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

most extraordinary exertions are required of it. Perhaps it
will be concluded that the exigencies of the times demand
action more than deliberation, and the formation of a con
stitution will be deferred till a calmer and less critical time.
The pecuniary payment stipulated by one of the articles
cannot be made in the present exhausted state of the na
tional finances without the adoption of some extraordinary
measures. There are some appearances which might in
duce an expectation that considerable resources are con
templated in the article of confiscation. Hitherto the
treatment experienced by the agents and partizans of the
House of Orange and of the former government has been
remarkably moderate. The policy of burying in oblivion
the differences which heretofore divided the people has
been professed by the possessors of the new government,
and forcibly recommended and inculcated by the French
representatives and generals. A different system it is now
said will probably be pursued. Several persons have
within these two days been arrested, and pamphlets highly
labored and well written are published, in order to give a
new direction to the public opinion.

It has already been mentioned that the municipal govern
ment of Amsterdam has long since ceased to harmonize
with the general government of the province. The division
continues, and increases from day to day. The munici
pality of Amsterdam have, therefore, determined to re
store their functions to the people from whom they are
supposed to have received them, and a new election is
proposed speedily to take place.

The Orange partizans have not yet abandoned their
hopes ; they cannot yet persuade themselves that the
King of Prussia will leave his sister and his daughter to
their fate. The grounds upon which their expectations

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 351

are founded have been mentioned heretofore, and although
the conclusion of this new treaty destroys almost entirely
the scaffolding of their system, the presence of the Prussian
army in Westphalia still flatters them with the hopes of
being once more conquered.

The Russian charge des affaires has received orders from
his court to quit this place without taking leave, and is
gone accordingly. It can scarcely be a doubt but that the
events of the last campaign, the unparalleled success of the
French armies, together with the change in the principles
professed by their government and the misfortunes of
Poland, have produced a great revolution in the policy of
almost all the European Cabinets. The objects which
were the original causes of the war have disappeared in the
vortex of events that have occurred. The division of
France, or the establishment of a government in that coun
try by external compulsion, is recognized as a vain imagina
tion. The dread of political doctrines is equally removed,
and the fears and jealousies which heretofore divided the
several sovereigns of Europe have returned in all their
force, to sow the seeds of future wars.

A distinguished member of the National Convention
declared about two months since, in a labored speech
relative to the negotiations for peace, that the real enemies
of the Republic were Britain, Austria and Russia, and he
endeavored to prove that from those powers so much was
to be apprehended by all the other in Europe, that France
must naturally be the friend and ally of all the rest. The
partition of Poland appears evidently to have occasioned
a very serious difference between the allies, who made
the conquest in conjunction. It has given an alarm to
the Turks, to Sweden and Denmark, who find themselves
henceforth exposed as the most immediate objects of

352 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Russian ambition. A variety of circumstances have con
curred to prove that Great Britain and Russia harmonize
in their present pursuits, and it is even affirmed that a new
alliance has been formed between them, in consequence of
which a Russian fleet is expected to be stationed in the
Baltic during the present campaign. It is further supposed
that a rupture will very soon take place between Russia and
the King of Prussia. The reciprocal advantage to be
afforded by Great Britain is the abandonment of Poland,
and even the support of the Russian system there. Among
the circumstances which corroborate these opinions are the
recall of the British Minister who has heretofore resided
in Poland, and the present recall of the Russian charge des
affaires from this place.

To counterbalance this association of Britain, Russia and
Austria, it is supposed that the purpose of the French govern
ment will be to unite against it together with their own efforts
the force of Prussia, Sweden and the Turkish Empire
against the continental powers, and that of Holland, and
perhaps of Spain against Britain.

It will be undoubtedly from the intelligence you will
receive directly from Paris, and from the officers of the
French government in America, that the best conclusion
may be drawn, whether the intention of exciting new enemies
against Great Britain extends to the United States. In the
conversations I had with the Representatives, soon after
their first arrival here, they all assured me of their entire
satisfaction in the neutrality of the United States. One of
them (Richard) expressly said that the French government
had been fully content with the assurance they had received
from Mr. Monroe, that the treaty signed by Mr. Jay in
November contained nothing inconsistent with the engage
ments of the United States with France. It is not to be

I79SI JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 353

dissimulated that the language held by the citizen Sieyes
in the interview I had with him here, and of which an
account has already been given, is of a different complexion.
At the present moment the treaty itself may be more a
cause of objection than its contents.

There is one circumstance from which the most sub
stantial hope of a general pacification proceeds, and it is
almost the only one, but indicates the probability of war
more extensive than it has been hitherto. The scarcity of
provisions is severely felt by all the nations of Europe, and
unless the means of cultivation, which have been very much
reduced, and the commerce which has been nearly annihi
lated, should be restored by the return of peace, a general
famine will be inevitable in the course of the following
winter, or at latest by the ensuing spring. This prospect
appears already so evidently to all the parties that it may
possibly contribute to the success of negotiations which
will, perhaps, not be interrupted by the hostilities of the
present campaign. Some considerable change may perhaps
be expected in the internal state of France, but what it
will be is very uncertain, and it is impossible to calculate
whether it will produce any alteration whatever in their
external policy.

With every sentiment of respect, £c.

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, May 22, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR :

My last letter acknowledged the receipt of your favor
of February n. That of December 2 has since reached me.
By the same opportunity I have letters from my brother
Charles of March 12. And I have seen Boston papers to
the ist of April. Our information from America is yet

2A

354 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

generally indirect and our means of conveyance few, diffi
cult and uncertain.

The appointment which places me here is undoubtedly
respectable, much beyond the line of my pretensions, and
the advantage of seeing Europe at the present moment is
personally a subject of particular gratification to me. The
situation which I was obliged to abandon for this gave me
nothing, or very little in possessions, but a fair and rational
prospect, infinitely more pleasing than those now before me.
My sacrifice was merely of an expectancy, but a very val
uable one in every point of view. It was independence,
usefulness and personal consideration ; but above all the
increasing attachment of friends, which every probability
led me to expect would be durable. The benefit of your
advice and instructions, the society however interrupted
and partial of my mother and the rest of the family, though
I feel severely the loss of them, were yet so inevitable and
of impossible consistency with an absence beyond the
Atlantic, that I do not reckon them in the account.

As it respects my country that has certainly gained
nothing by the exchange. To speak the sentiments of my
heart without equivocation, an American Minister at the
Hague is one of the most useless beings in creation. The
whole corps diplomatique here, according to a late French
production of considerable merit, n'est plus qu'une Assemblee
de nouvellistes, and the actor must have not an humble
but a degraded idea of himself, who can be satisfied with the
part of receiving the pay of a nation for the purpose of
penetrating the contents of a newspaper.

As a single private individual I flatter myself that my
mite of contribution to the public service in America was
more valuable than any that I can render at present. The
retribution is equally inconsistent with propriety. At pres-

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 355

ent I am liberally paid for no service at all. There my
only reward for considerable labor, and some political
courage, was abuse, sometimes upon myself which was of
very little consequence to me, but much more frequently
upon an object entitled to all the veneration of the whole
people, as much as he was possessed of mine, and who was
persecuted for my offences with a malignancy and a bru
tality such as among mankind is experienced only by virtue
and integrity; but which real crimes and infamy are too
much respected ever to suffer.

At length, after four months of suspense upon the fate of
this country, a treaty to acknowledge the independence and
sovereignty of the Batavian people without a Stadtholder
was signed on the i/th instant, by two members of the
French Committee of Public Safety (Rewbell and Sieyes),
and four deputies from the States General.

This treaty will undoubtedly be published in the Ameri
can newspapers before my letter can reach you, and I hope
it will be a subject of serious reflection to every American.
It shows in the clearest light at what price the friendship
and assistance of France as a Republic is estimated by her
own government. Let it be remembered that from the
commencement of the war they have declared themselves
the enemies of the Stadtholder and his government, but the
friends and allies of the Dutch people. These friends and
allies, after considering this territory durin-g four months
as a conquest, and treating it accordingly, though with all
possible civility and some generosity, finally exact as con
ditions for acknowledging the liberty and independence of
their friends and allies, a very considerable dismemberment
of territory, a perpetual pledec of political subserviency,
and one hundred million of florins in cash. Non tali auxilio.

These facts are the more deserving of consideration,

356 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

because I have several reasons to suppose that the policy
of the French government at present is to make use of the
United States, as they are now making use of these Prov
inces, that is, as an instrument for the benefit of France,
as a passive weapon in her hands against her most formi
dable enemy. Being at a distance from Paris and having no
regular connection with any members of that government,
I am unable to trace the causes of my suspicions to a very
certain source. I have not the means of ascertaining any
considerable variety of facts, from the combination of
which a conclusion to warrant any affirmative declaration
could be drawn, and the communication with France itself
is so liable to accident, that I am unable to correspond with
Mr. Monroe so confidentially as would be necessary to
determine how far my conjectures are founded.

From the occurrences of the last year, it is certain that a
prodigious alteration in the relative position of the Euro
pean powers towards one another has taken place. The
centre of combination has been equally removed by the
victories of France and by the misfortunes of Poland. The
drunken madness of political fanaticism has subsided sur
prisingly. The ruin of France remains therefore the only
centre of union to the coalesced powers, but this principle
is no less repulsive on one side than it is attractive on the
other. New interests have arisen to form different combina
tions from those of the war as it began, and they have
already been productive of a considerable revolution of
policy, discovered in many public events and distinguishable
from other circumstances.

The tendency of these new interests is to unite the efforts
of Austria, Russia and Britain, for the present moment, in
one common pursuit ; but it unites equally all the rest of
Europe against them.

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 357

This combination is unquestionably formidable, and it
has an immense advantage in the pecuniary resources of
Great Britain. They remain at least for present occasion
in undiminished vigor, while those of France are exhausted
in proportion to the violence of those exertions that have
acquired her splendid triumphs.

It is not to be doubted but that France intends to unite
against her three remaining rivals and enemies as many
European powers as possible. The policy has been indeed
clearly discovered in speeches made to the National Conven
tion by members of the Executive Committee, in which
mention has escaped of nations " which had observed
neutrality, wise in its principle, but which has become
insufficient," where subsidies to be given for the purpose of
causing a diversion have been suggested, and where numer
ous objections have been made to prove that Spain, Prussia
and Holland are all deeply interested in the future success
of the French cause.

The intention of employing the United States likewise as
an useful enemy to Great Britain has not been so openly
avowed. And long since the arrival of the French armies
in this country, the Representatives with whom I have had
occasion to converse have declared themselves to be entirely
satisfied with the neutrality of the United States. They do
not at present say expressly the contrary, but they observe,
that it is very extraordinary that the treaty signed by Mr.
Jay last November should yet be kept secret.

It is impossible that they should imagine there is any
thing in that treaty with which France can have any pre
tence to interfere. It is therefore the treaty itself, which
does not suit these views, because they consider it as the
means of terminating differences, which their own interest
leads them to wish may terminate in a rupture.

358 THE WRITINGS OF [i79S

If these conjectures have as much foundation as I appre
hend, the whole French influence in America will exert
itself with more than usual activity to prevent the ratifica
tion of the treaty, and to produce at all events a war be
tween the United States and Great Britain, not assuredly
from regard to our interest, which they respect as much as
they do that of their friends and allies the Hollanders, but
because they are sensible of how much importance our
commerce is to Great Britain, and suppose that the loss
of it would make that nation outrageous for peace, and
compel the Minister to make it upon the terms they are
disposed to dictate.

It was probably the intention of the Brissotine party, the
Executive Council, who sent Genet to America to involve
the United States in a war with Britain, but in such a manner
as should be imperceptible to ourselves, as should have the
appearance of being entirely a war of our own, and should
leave France free from all engagements, in full liberty to
make her own peace, whenever she might think proper,
and leave us to extricate ourselves as we could. This plan
was not successful in its execution, and perhaps was aban
doned by the Executive Committee, which rose upon the
ruins of the Council. To them the neutrality of the United
States was at least as beneficial as any assistance they could
expect from them in a state of war, or at least by appearing to
pursue a different policy, they meant to make it an instru
ment of odium against the party they had then defeated.
That Committee has been sacrificed in its turn. Every
thing done by them is an object of execration. They are
Jacobins, Terrorists, Royalists, drinkers of blood, robbers,
scourges of the human race, everything that a victorious
party can make of one that is defeated. The truth of the
fact seems to be that the Brissotine party have resumed

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 359

their superiority in the Convention, and have derived among
the people some consideration, more from the detestation of
their predecessors, than from their own merits. They have
resumed the principles and the policy, which the decem-
viral government had abandoned, and among the rest per
haps the design of fomenting a war between America and
Great Britain. They have sent to America a new minister,1
to take the place of Fauchet ; a man, who has been hereto
fore employed by them in their revolutionary manoeuvres
at Geneva, and who, as one of the Representatives lately a
member of the Committee of Public Safety told me, was sub
stituted instead of the other, whose "talents and experience
are found to be not equal to the importance of the mission."

I have considered it as an indispensable duty that I owe
to my country to express to you, Sir, my ideas and suspi
cions upon a subject of so much importance : in my public
correspondence I have scarcely hinted at them, because
they are but suspicions, and because there is another source,
from which more accurate information is to be expected,
and will doubtless be received. At least if my conjectures
are groundless they will be harmless, because the state of
affairs in America will prove them to be fallacious. If
they are well founded, it may not be useless that the symp
toms breaking forth in this quarter of the world should be
known to you, and combined with those that will discover
themselves in America.

If their present views really are to draw the United States
into a war with Britain, their only motive for it must be
to accelerate their own peace. The general sentiment of
the French at the present moment, if I mistake not, is less
cordial towards the Americans than it has been. They envy

1 Pierre August Adet (1763-1832). See Correspondence of French Ministers
(Turner), 728.

360 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

us the immense advantage we have derived from our neu
trality ; they think we have grown rich upon their impover
ishment; that we have drained them of their specie, and
they do not scruple to charge our merchants who have
supplied their most urgent necessities, with having taken
advantage of their wants to extort extravagant profits upon
their commerce. Peace has become an object of extreme
necessity to them ; their finances, their commerce, their
manufactures, their agriculture, their population, all by
an inseparable chain are connected in a dependence upon
the return of peace. Yet the brilliancy of their victories,
and especially the security of the prevailing party, make it
indispensably necessary to them to insist upon conditions,
to which their enemies in the present state of affairs will
certainly not submit. It is for their benefit alone, there
fore, that they wish to see us engaged, and should they
succeed in this intention the principal, perhaps the only
use they will make of their success will be to obtain more
glorious terms of peace for themselves.

The President of the United States has so decidedly
adopted and maintained the policy of neutrality, and it has
proved so advantageous to the country, that it is perhaps
an idle apprehension that can imagine it will again be
endangered. Before this letter reaches you, the question
upon the ratification of the treaty signed in November will
undoubtedly be decided. The die will be cast ; the point
of peace or enmity with Britain settled. If by a ratification
of the treaty, perhaps a coolness on the part of France will
again be discernible, but from which no ill consequences
whatever are to be dreaded. If the treaty should be
rejected, the French influence and French intrigue, always
so active and powerful among us, will become much more
busy than they have ever been before.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 361

On the first supposition their disappointment will have no
serious consequence, because they have still great need of
our supplies, because the policy of their government under
every possible variation will always be to conform the
style of their pretentions in their political relations with
us to the degree of firmness or of acquiescence discovered
on our part, and because our friendship and neutrality must
be more agreeable and advantageous to them than a state
of variance. Failing in their favorite object, they will
eventually content themselves with that which they con
sider as the next best, and very possibly the situation of
their internal concerns may once more make it the interest
of a prevailing faction to alter the system of external policy,
in order by the restoration of cordiality with their neighbors,
to cast an odium upon their rivals at home.

If the treaty should not be ratified, the French will exert
themselves for the purpose of hurrying us into a war, which
may hasten their means of making peace, and in which they
may be under no obligation of making a common cause with
us. Their partizans, perhaps, in declamations or in news
papers will promise wonders from their co-operation ; their
official characters possibly may employ a great number of
what they call phrases, but will have no power to contract
any substantial engagements ; we shall be friends, brothers,
allies, fellow-freemen, loaded with all the tenderness of
family affections introduced by a political prosopopeia
into national concerns, and the final result of the whole
matter will be, that all this tender sympathy, this amiable
fraternity, this lovely coalescence of liberty, will leave us
the advantage of being sacrificed to their interests, or of
purchasing their protection upon the most humiliating and
burdensome conditions, and at the same time of being
reduced to the condition of glorying in our disgrace, and

362 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

hailing the instrument of our calamity as the weapon of our
deliverance.

I wish that the situation of affairs in America may be
such as shall afford a full demonstration, that these are
ideas merely visionary, and above all I wish that we may
never have occasion for any political connections in Europe.
The alarming prospects of famine, which threaten every
part of this hemisphere, may perhaps contribute more than
any other circumstance to a general pacification, which if
it should be effected will in truth be nothing more than a
suspension of arms.

The internal state of France is critical, and will probably
experience a considerable change in the course of the present
year. It is impossible, however, to anticipate at this dis
tance what turn it will take. They are weary of their
revolutionary government, and universally convinced that
the Constitution which has been accepted can never be
carried into execution in its present state. As they do not
yet venture to lay it entirely aside, they have contrived
to propose a supplementary addition under the name of
organic laws.1 A committee of eleven 2 members has been
chosen by the Convention to prepare them and the result
of their labors will soon be presented to the Assembly. The
weakness of their present government is the principal sub
ject of complaint at this time, and the principles of modera
tion are found incompetent to repress the movements of
popular indignation and revenge. The execution of sixteen
persons formerly composing part of the revolutionary tri
bunal under the government of Robespierre, has recently
taken place at Paris with the sanction of legal forms, but
at Lyons the impatience of the people has anticipated the
decision of justice, and on the 4th of this month the sanc-

1 That is, a new constitution. 2 Appointed April 23.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 363

tuary of the prisons was again violated, and sixty or seventy
persons were sacrificed by the people, as an atonement for
the cruelties of which they had been heretofore the princi
pal agents.
I am, &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
No. 43 [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, June 24, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

Previous to the revolution which happened in this country
in the year 1787, in most of the cities and villages throughout
the provinces certain clubs or popular societies had formed
themselves, similar in their nature to those which have
since then been so notorious in France, and to those which
upon their model have recently arisen in the United States.
After the victory of the Stadtholder over the patriotic
party these societies were prohibited from assembling, and
others, consisting only of the partizans of the House of
Orange, were substituted in their stead. Since the arrival of
the French armies in Holland and the revolution consequent
upon that event, the Orange societies have been prohibited
in their turn, and the patriotic clubs have been revived.

The only qualification requisite to make any person eligible
as a member of these clubs is that of being an unequivocal
partizan. They are composed, therefore, of people in every
different situation of society, and are very considerable in
point of numbers. It has been indeed considered as a sort of
test to judge of the patriotism of every individual, and num
bers of people become members of the clubs as they wear
the cockade of the day, merely for the purpose of securing a
guard against odium, and a protection from insult.

364 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Since the last revolution the persons vested with the
powers of administration have observed uniformly tow
ards the members of the ancient government, a system of
moderation and of conciliation equally dictated by humanity
and by policy. The same principle has been supported and
promoted by the officers of the French government, civil
and military, and has hitherto been attended with very
good consequences. The principal opposition to this system
has arisen from the popular societies, who in several of the
large cities have passed resolves of a different complexion,
and in some have peremptorily demanded of the present
magistrates to adopt measures of remedy against the mem
bers of the former regencies.

These ebullitions were in general contained within
bounds until the conclusion of the alliance with France,
partly by the exhortations of the present magistrates, and
principally by the superintendence of the French Represen
tatives and generals who, more than once, declared in the
most positive terms that they would not suffer the execution
of any arbitrary designs, and would protect all the members
of the former government or others, against every attempt to
persecute them without a specific accusation.

The popular societies submitted, but did not acquiesce.
On the I4th of this month, at Rotterdam, in consequence
of a resolution taken at the society, a notification was dis
persed throughout the city, inviting all true patriots to
assemble together in a public place assigned at a certain
hour of that day.

The meeting was numerous to the amount of several
thousands. They deliberated, they resolved and finally
determined to go in a body to the house where the municipal
ity was assembled, and s^nd a deputation to them, demand
ing in the name of the people that all the members of the

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 365

former Regency be put under arrest in their houses. That
the former High Officer be confined in close prison, that all
the subaltern officers of the Orange party still in employ
ment be immediately dismissed and others appointed on
their stead, true Patriots and such as should be agreeable
to the people.

The Council of the municipality refused at first to comply
with these demands, assigning as their reasons for this
refusal that the citizens had not been legally assembled,
and their deputation could not therefore be considered as
expressing the voice of the people; and further that, as the
deputation alleged no cause whatever for the arrest of
the former Regents and High Officer, the demand could not
be complied with but by a violation of the rights of men and
citizens, rights which they, the members of the municipality,
had promised before God and their fellow citizens to support,
and one article of which was that "no man can rightfully
be accused, arrested and imprisoned but in such cases and
according to such formalities, as have previously been
established by law." This answer was not satisfactory to
the people who surrounded the State House, and the munici
pality were soon after compelled by the fear for their own
lives to declare, that they were obliged to choose between
ike circumstances and the law, and therefore adopted all the
measures that had been thus dictated to them.

The next day all the members of the municipality resigned
their places, but have since consented to continue their
functions until the Provincial Assembly shall have come to
some determination relative to this transaction. The same
collection of people afterwards appointed a committee, and
sent them to the Provincial Assembly demanding: i. That
one or more revolutionary tribunals be created for the
purpose of revising the judicial decisions under the former

366 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

government relative to political offences, and to indemnify
the innocent for their injuries out of the property of the
Regents at that time. 2. That all the former Regents
of the Orange party be put under arrest; and 3. The
dismission of all the partizans of the House of Orange from
every species of public employment.

On the 16 the Provincial Assembly appointed a committee
to go to Rotterdam, and hold an amicable conference with the
committee from the multitude that had assembled, and to
endeavor to settle the affair in a satisfactory manner.
The result of this conference was an arrangement, in conse
quence of which the members of the former Regency were
dismissed from their arrest, giving the security of bonds to a
large amount, and the people of the city were authorized
to appoint a committee of vigilance to preserve the pub
lic peace and tranquility. Here the matter rests for the
present.

Something of a similar nature has occurred, it is said,
in some other cities, and it is not improbable but the
same spirit will discover itself with equal force at Am
sterdam.

The generality of the party at present victorious have
never been satisfied with the moderation that has been shown
to the Regents and officers of the former government.
Patriotism has considered them as offenders deserving
punishment, private malice and resentment have viewed them
as oppressors reduced to impotence, and therefore proper
subjects of apprehension in their turn. Interest has looked
only at their wealth, and supposed that it offered a just and
plentiful supply to the present necessities of the country.
These dispositions have been very much strengthened and
increased by the conduct and conversation of the other party.
The lenity they have experienced, instead of reconciling

X79S1 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 367

them to the new order of things, has only given them courage
to hope to rail and to threaten. It is hardly conceivable
with what imprudence they provoke severity, and bid
defiance to a power certainly competent to ruin them. At
the same time they are constantly feeding their own hopes
with rumors, the credit of which rests upon no other founda
tion than their absurdity. A new revolution is so constantly
the object of their wishes, that they grasp at everything
true or false which can flatter their expectations. The
impatience of their desires overleaps the bounds of space and
time. They bring an English fleet upon the coast, or intro
duce a Prussian army into the heart of the country, with a
facility more than practical, and, without waiting for an
uncertain reality, they hasten to enjoy the triumph pre
pared for them with such rapidity that they have repeatedly
stimulated their partisans among the populace to acts of
riot and sedition, which it has been found necessary to
punish.

Such is the present state of the temper between the two
great parties of this Republic. It is thought that it may be
not altogether useless to have entered into some detail on the
subject, because it may serve to give an idea of the public
mind as it exists here at this time, and because it may indicate
the probability of a material change in the system of internal
policy in this Republic. The treatment of the members of
the former government forms a part of an external system,
and should the principles which have hitherto been pursued
in this particular be abandoned, those which must be sub
stituted in their stead would unquestionably have a very
essential operation upon the aspect of affairs throughout
their provinces.

Please to accept the assurances, &c.

368 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

No. 44. [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, June 25, 1795.
DEAR SIR :

... I have now the honor of inclosing the translation of
the plan for the convocation of a National Convention, which
has been sent by the States General to the several Provincial
Assemblies for their consideration. The probability seems to
be that it will eventually be adopted, but the deliberations
will be more or less deferred in the different provinces, and a
considerable time will elapse before it will be put in execu
tion.

The principal objection that I have heard against it is,
that it interposes another provisional government between
the present and that of a regular constitution, that it multi
plies revolutions beyond the line of necessity, and seems to
prescribe changes merely for the sake of changing.

This is not however generally considered an objection of
much weight, nor is the plan itself a subject of much dis
cussion. It is indeed impossible to conceive a people more
indifferent to everything relating to theories of government
than the Batavians. I should hazard nothing in saying
that the law calling for the gold and silver of the citizens
has been the subject of more animadversions in every town
of the Republic, than the plan herewith inclosed has been,
or ever will be, throughout the whole territory. The plan
itself may perhaps give an adequate idea of the people for
whom it is formed. It is the result of three months' labor
and intelligence of a committee appointed for the purpose,
and it is distinguishable less perhaps for any luminous
principles than for a minuteness of detail, which does

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 369

not disdain even the building of benches for the voters in
the primary assemblies. . . .

June 26. The affair of the municipality of Rotterdam
has not hitherto had consequences so unpleasant as was
apprehended, the demonstration of mutual opposition has,
indeed, more than once assumed an alarming appearance,
but hitherto has produced no distressing events. The
Provincial assembly annulled the order that had been
extorted from the municipality, and discharged from their
arrest the magistrates of the former Regency, excepting
only the high officer Van Staveren, whose arrest is continued,
and the irritation of the people of Rotterdam against him is
given as the reason for the measure. They made at the
same time a calm, rational and judicious address to the
people who had made the irregular demands, recommending
temper and moderation to them, and conjuring them not to
disgrace the fair and unblemished character of the revolution
by acts of violence, even against the most obnoxious charac
ters. They proposed, however, to appoint a Committee
to examine into the conduct as well relative to concerns of
politics as of finance of all the former regents, in order that
those who had been the oppressors of the people should be
compelled to make indemnity from their private fortunes.
These measures, however, were far from being satisfactory
to the popular society at Rotterdam. The secretary of the
irregular assembly formally protested against the decree of
the Provincial Assembly, and published his protest in the
newspaper. On the 22d instant the people assembled again
in considerable numbers. But the French commandant of
the place, in concert with the municipality, having publicly
declared that he should use all the force under his command
against any attempt whatever to disturb the peace, and
every demonstration of a determination to defend the munici-

2B

370 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

pality at all hazards against any further indignity being
made, they finally dispersed without attempting any
violence.

June 30. I have this day received from the Greffier of
the States General a card which mentions that the secretary
of the Ambassador Extraordinary from the Republic at
Paris has just arrived, with the ratification by the National
Convention of the treaty of friendship and alliance, signed
at the Hague on the 15 of May last, and inclosing two copies
of the treaty. I send one of them herewith.

On the twenty-third of this month the commission of
eleven appointed by the Convention to prepare and present
for discussion the organic laws of the proposed French
constitution, made their report to the assembly. They have
abandoned without ceremony the constitution of 1793, and
substituted in its stead much more similar to those forms of
government which are familiar to Americans. The assembly
are to open the discussion of the plan on the 4th of July.

The legislative body is proposed to consist of two parts, a
council of 500 and a council of Elders to the number of 250, to
be renewed by halves every two years. A landed property
of some kind is made a qualification of eligibility. The
Council of 250 has only a negative upon the laws proposed
by the more numerous body.

The executive power is to consist of a directory of five
members, one of whom is to be renewed annually, and which
is to be presided by the members alternately each for three
months at a time. The legislative and executive powers
are both to be surrounded with forms of solemnity, and to be
guarded by an armed force. These are the principal circum
stances which discover the prevalence of theoretic opinions
which have been unfavorably reviewed at certain periods of
the Revolution. The report was made by Boissy d'Anglas,

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 371

a member who has been very much distinguished of late, and
whose intrepidity on a recent critical occasion has given
him an extraordinary degree of popularity.1 It was re
ceived with great applause by the audience in the galleries,
and appears to be equally satisfactory to the public in Paris.
I have the honor to be, &c.

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, June 27, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR :

I received two or three days since your favors of March 26,
April 21 and 26, all together, and I know not how to express
the pleasure they gave me. The first and dearest of all
my wishes is personally to give satisfaction, and obtain
the approbation of my parents, and in a public capacity
to justify the confidence placed in me by the appointment I
now hold. This wish is in both parts so abundantly gratified
by the warm and cordial expressions used in your letters, that
I have nothing left to desire but a continuance of that kind
ness and indulgence which I have always experienced from
you, and which the government has been pleased to bestow
upon my first performances in their service.

Every suggestion or intimation of advice from you will
always be received with gratitude by me, because I know
from long experience, that it will operate to my own ad
vantage in its use. The officer2 I mentioned to you in one
of my first letters, and with respect to whom you give me
a caution, never had any confidence from me. His ad
venture here, and his claims and those of his friends for my

1 In the affair of I Prairial (May i), when the head of the murdered Jean
Fcraud on a pike was waved before him as he presided over the Convention.
1 Eustace.

372 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

official services, embarrassed me not a little upon my
first arrival. But as I was from the first moment guarded
by my suspicions, I refused all interference in his affair
beyond what I considered as an obligation of duty. By
doing more I should have paid my court more effectually to
the Patriots, who are now at the head of affairs, but I had
not forgotten that I was not sent here to make myself a
partizan of Dutch factions, and I had upon that occasion
at least the advantage of discovering, what has since received
ample confirmation, that I must be content with coolness
from the patriotic party as well as from the other, and
must reconcile myself philosophically to the certainty of
being no favorite with either side.

I have endeavored in my letters to you hitherto to pre
serve a chain of general intelligence relative to the most
important political affairs of Europe. Since my last letter,
or rather while I was writing it, a furious insurrection broke
out against the Convention, which was during two days
upon the point of a general massacre, and one member of
which was killed by a pistol shot, and his head was carried
on a pike in the Hall of the Convention itself. The revolt
however was eventually suppressed, and as soon as the
victory of the Assembly was ascertained, they appointed a
military commission of five members to try all offenders con
cerned in that conspiracy. By this tribunal six members
of the Convention have recently been condemned to death.1
All six attempted to anticipate the execution by their own
hands, three of them succeeded, but the rest suffered according
to the judgement. Three other members of the Convention
prevented even their trial by a voluntary death. Several
others are still reserved for trial, and in all probability will
have the same fate. All this proceeds from a deadly aver-

1 Romme, Duquesnoy, Duroy, Bourbotte, Soubrany, and Goujeon.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 373

sion to the sanguinary system of terror pursued in the time
of Robespierre. But this singular species of humanity,
this energetic abhorrence of cruelty, is not confined within
the limits of legal forms. In many of the departments the
former murderers are murdered with as little ceremony,
the drowners are drowned. The mere name of Terrorist is a
title to proscription, and how often the name is given by
private malice for the sake of producing the proscription,
is not told. These excesses are disapproved by all the
sober part of the nation, they are disapproved even by the
Convention, but they are committed every day, and there is
no power competent to restrain or to punish them. On the
other hand the war in the Vendee again blazes out with
extreme violence, as is said. A sort of treaty had been
signed by the deputies of the Convention on the one side and
the principal leaders of the rebellion on the other. The
latter were promised pardon and protection, engaging to
submit to the laws of the Republic. It is now said they
were perfidiously dissimulating; that they have violated the
pacifications. Twenty-five or thirty of them have been
arrested and sent to Paris for trial, and the Convention
has decreed that the violation of the treaty is an offence
punishable with death.

At Toulon a Jacobin insurrection was for some time
successful. It extended to the fleet then in the harbor, and
prevented it from sailing to meet the British fleet in the
Mediterranean. A member of the Convention in mission
there was driven to despair by this event, and shot himself.
But this revolt was of short duration ; order was soon re
stored, and the fleet has now sailed.

The son of Louis the i6th died in the temple on the 8th
[10] of this month.1 His sister, the only remaining child

1 Louis XVII. Cambridge Modern History, VIII, 389.

374 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

of the late King, it is said, is very ill. The surgeon who
attended the boy in his illness died a few days before
him. A proces verbal, signed by four health officers, by
order of the Committee of General Surety, declares that
the death was owing to a scrofulous disease of long con
tinuance.

In the midst of all these events the arms of the Repub
lic continue to be victorious. Luxemburg not long since
capitulated, and a garrison of twelve thousand men re
turns to Germany engaging not to serve against the French
or their allies during the war. Mentz alone now remains
to be taken on the left side of the Rhine. A peace between
France and the German Empire becomes probable. But
the Emperor and Great Britain, or at least the latter, will
remain at war.

The perseverance of the British government is founded
upon their confidence in their naval superiority, which is now
established more decisively than it has ever been. The
French government, to make a parade of commanding the
seas, sent their large fleet of thirty-six men of war to
cruise to and fro in the channel, through the months of
December and January last. They enjoyed the satisfaction
of naval empire at their full leisure. It was not for a moment
disputed, and indeed scarcely perceived in a season when
commerce is not fond of frequenting the channel. The
price at which this enjoyment was purchased was the total
loss of seven ships of the line wrecked in a tempest, and all
the fleet so shattered and disabled, that it has not yet
been repaired, and will be able to do nothing this season. It
is possible that one effort more will be made in the Mediter
ranean, but the reasonable Frenchmen begin to give up even
the pretension of contesting the sea during the present war.
They did expect that their success in this country could have

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 375

proved essentially advantageous to them, and upon their first
arrival here you would have imagined they were landing
upon the English coast. They soon discovered their error.
The naval force of this country was magni nominis umbra,
and if the French did not take possession of all they found
in the ports of this Republic by right of conquest, it
was merely because all they found was really not worth
taking. The Batavians have stipulated in their treaty
of alliance to have twelve ships of the line and eighteen
frigates during this season ready for sea. They will probably
not have half the number. At this moment there does
not appear to be a single frigate or man of war fit for sea,
and the British come and take prizes in full sight of the
Texel itself.

On the strength of their maritime supremacy the British
government have revived their system of famishing their
enemies into submission, and as they were unable to protect
the Hollanders as friends, they have concluded to starve
them too. All neutral vessels laden with provisions bound
to France or Holland are to be captured by the British
armed vessels and carried into their ports, the freights and
cargoes to be paid.

The policy of the British government seems to consider
military operations as the least essential part of war. The
pride, pomp and circumstance of their hostility consist not
in the neighing steed, the shrill trump, the spirit stirring
drum, the ear piercing fife, or the royal banner, but in
forgery and famine. Their troops have been the terror
of their friends and the derision of their enemies, but their
artists are inimitable at counterfeiting an assignat, and
their frigates and privateers are invincible against the mer
chant vessels of neutral nations. Trahit sua quamque
voluptas : every man has his predilection for some particular

376 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

species of glory. That of conquering by famine and forgery
may have its charms too, and however destructive such a
contest may be, the victory would at least have the ad
vantage of being bloodless.

It is however at this time tolerably well ascertained that
the system of starving will not be more successful this time
than it has been heretofore. The scarcity of bread is un
doubtedly great in France and in this country too, but every
other article of provision is in usual plenty. The season is
said to be uncommonly promising, a considerable variety
of vegetables which can serve to supply the place of bread
have already reached their maturity, even in this northern
climate, and every day from the present moment will add
some new article to the stores. The usual period of the
harvest is rapidly approaching, and the British government
will once more be obliged to console themselves for the
failure of their design by the consciousness of its efficacy.
The mere intention to famish thirty millions of the human
race is a'n effort that must carry its own reward along with it,
and even its failure will be not much less glorious than
would be its success.

Since the conclusion of the treaty between the French and
Batavian Republics nothing very material has taken place
here. The same languor and imbecility which characterized
the former government are equally discovered by the
present : no vigor, no exertions, no public spirit, but abun
dance of commonplace about liberty, equality and the rights
of man ; abundance of invective against the House of Orange
and its partizans, abundance of patriotic exultation, together
with frequent ebullitions of rage restrained and of revenge
repressed but ready to burst forth in all its violence against
the rotten part of the nation, the slavish subalterns of their
oppressors, that is against all the members of the former

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 377

regencies. This spirit of turbulence is preserved and
stimulated by the popular societies, as numerous and almost
as mischievous here as they are elsewhere. The other day
at Rotterdam, in consequence of some flaming resolves of
the popular society there, a mob of several thousand people
assembled together, went to the State House and demanded
of the municipality to order all the members of the former
Regency immediately under arrest. The municipality
remonstrated, stating that the people were not legally
assembled, that their demand was contrary to the rights of
man, inasmuch as they had made no specific charge against
the persons whose arrest they desired. To this grave and
serious objection the only reply to the municipality was,
that if they had any regard for their own lives, they must
instantly comply with the wishes of the people, and they
complied accordingly. The mob then chose a committee to
come and demand of the Provincial Assembly the same
measure of severity to be extended through the Province.
The Assembly entered into a sort of negotiation with them,
annulled the order that had been extorted from the munici
pality of Rotterdam, discharged the persons confined under
it from arrest, excepting only the former high officer whose
arrest is continued, because the people of Rotterdam appear to
be very much irritated against him, and promise that they will
pay all proper attention to the wishes of the people. The
collection of well-disposed people (the name assumed by the
irregular assembly,) are not satisfied with these measures,
their secretary makes a formal protestation against them,
and publishes it in the newspapers. The members of the
municipality at Rotterdam, indignant at the violence to
which they had been forced to yield, all resign and after
wards at the request of the Provincial Assembly consent to
continue in office for the present.

378 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

The character, the situation and temper of the Provincial
Assembly of the municipalities in general, of the popular
societies, and of the peuple patriot?, are all displayed more
clearly in this one transaction than could be done by a volume
of description or argumentation. In the rulers you see
moderation, a regard for good principles, and a sense of the
duties annexed to their stations, but all subordinate to com
plaisance for the popular will, and still more to personal
fear. In the popular societies and their emanations, the
thirst for party vengeance, the want of confidence in the
nominal rulers so lately the objects of their own choice, the
contempt of all principles upon which political and civil
liberty must be founded, and the defiance publicly pro
claimed of all the authorities which have so recently been
created, are equally discernible. I have related this anecdote
therefore as a specimen from which it may be judged what
the present state of affairs here is. Many others might be
told, bearing in a degree the same distinctive marks, and
all would tend to the confirmation of the same conclusion.
In the meantime the project of making a new Constitution
is yet held forth, and the States General have lately sent
to the Provincial Assemblies for their acceptance a plan for
the convocation of a National Convention. This plan is
considered as a thing of so little consequence, that it has not
even been published in any of the French newspapers of the
country. I have therefore made a translation of it from
the Dutch for the Secretary of State, and send a copy of it
also to you, because it is really an object of curiosity, and
because I am glad to have an opportunity of showing you
that I have not entirely neglected the language.

I shall perhaps take another opportunity to communicate
the observations which this plan suggests in relation to the
state of public opinion upon the theory of government, but at

I79SJ JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 379

present I must remember I am writing a letter and not a
volume.

I have at length received instructions, which relieve me
from all embarrassment with respect to the conduct I have
to hold in the changes which have been, and yet will be,
taking place around me.1 Hitherto I have had no occasion to

1 "The maxim of the President towards France has been to follow the govern
ment of the people. Whatsoever regimen a majority of them shall establish is, both
de facto and de jure, that to which our minister there addresses himself. If there
fore the independency of the United Netherlands continues, it is wished that you
make no difficulty in passing from the old to any new constitution of the people.
If the new rulers will accept your old powers and credentials, offer them. If they
require others adapted to the new order of things, assure the proper authorities or in-
dividuals that you will write for them, and doubt not that they will be expedited.

" Should the United Netherlands become a dependence on the French Republic,
your mission will of course be terminated by the extinction of the nation itself.
But in this event you will continue on the ground until further instructions^ taking
care to communicate fully, and by quadruplicates, with this government. At the
same time you will be as neutral as possible in your conduct and remarks and avdJ
offence to either side. Should anything be said to you on the French side urging
some declaration from you, it will be enough to give assurances of our regard for the
French Republic, and to express your confidence that as in your instructions the
event could not have been foreseen, every accommodation will be made by your
government for maintaining an harmonious intercourse with that Republic and its
connections.

"Should it be doubtful in whose hands [government] will be finally established,
your prudence must prevent you from committing the government of the United
States until you see your way clearly. You will be best able to judge whether under
this, or any circumstances, you could not contrive an adequate pretext for retiring
to some spot within the Seven Provinces or their dependencies, until you shall re
ceive an answer to your communications to this department. But such a retirement
ought to be so managed as to have nothing of the air of design or of alienation
from the existing rulers. It would be a delicate step, and would require to be
thoroughly digested. The only end proposed by this suggestion is that you may
shelter yourself from inconvenient importunities.

"If amidst the inevitable convulsions personal danger be apprehended, no line can be
chalked by us for your guidance, and your own judgement and discretion must decide.
But without the most unequivocal necessity it is thought best that you should not
quit the country until you shall be so instructed." From the Secretary of State, Feb
ruary 27, 1795. Ms. Words in italics were in cipher.

38o THE WRITINGS OF [1795

take any step that could cause particular remark, and if
I have not made myself violent friends and admirers in the
party, by subscribing to their clubs and joining in their
processions, neither have I made myself obnoxious by any
conduct or remarks that could be offensive to them. The
other neutral Ministers and even the Portuguese have con
stantly remained here. I have found them all very polite
obliging and friendly.

I have the same acknowledgment to make with respect
to the French Representatives and Generals who have been
in this country. It is due to them all excepting Sieyes, who
in the only conversation I had with him spoke of the govern
ment of the United States in a manner different from the
others, and who was answered by me in a manner equally
different from that I had used with the rest. I have related
the conversation in a letter to the Secretary of State.

I am, &c.

TO ABIGAIL ADAMS

THE HAGUE, June 29, 1795.

My friend, T. H. Perkins, who was here some time since,
had already informed me of the discomfiture the Jacobini
cal heroes had suffered in Boston, by the loss of Honestus's
election.1

His Chronicle printer,2 the Tom Tit twittering on this
goose's back, cannot fight, it seems, his little wish to be
malicious against me. He will not forgive me for having
put some truth and justice into his paper. It was such a

1 John Coffin Jones was elected and Benjamin Austin, Jr., defeated in the Sena
torial choice.

2 The printers of the Independent Chronicle were Thomas Adams and Benjamin
Larkin.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 381

violence to the personal character of the man, and the politi
cal character of the print, as would have made him my
enemy for ever, if he had dared to be the enemy of any man.
The American minister neither went to England with the
Stadtholder, nor remained at the Hague under the protection
of General Pichegru. He remained at his post under the
protection of the Laws of Nations ; that is, of certain usages
and principles to the printer and editor of the Chronicle
unknown, but which all civilized human beings hold in
singular veneration, and which General Pichegru as well as
the other French generals and representatives of the people
who have been in this country, took particular pains to
preserve inviolate. It did not once enter their minds that
the minister of a neutral and friendly nation could be a
subject of protection to them ; but they were anxiously
solicitous that none of the rights annexed to the character
should suffer the minutest injury from them, and strange
as it may seem to the aforesaid printer and editor, they
universally valued very highly the reputation of being scrupu
lously observant of the laws of nations. . . .

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, 27 July, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR:

The public affairs of the country where I now reside
afford at this time but an indifferent topic of correspondence.
In the general scale of Europe it is of so little comparative
importance, that nothing less than a conquest or a revolu
tion can make its current events interesting enough to be
an object of communication beyond the Atlantic. Both
these great political changes have taken place since my arri
val here, both have been completed, and leave the nation

382 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

in a state of dull tranquility that is equally barren for narra
tion and for observation. In my last letter was inclosed
a translation of the plan proposed for calling a Convention.
The subject has been discussed in the several Provincial
Assemblies. That of Holland proposes to accept the plan
with an amendment, whereby the National Convention shall
be invested with all the powers of the whole Batavian people.
That of Friesland objects against assembling a Convention
at all, and proposes to remain in their present state of con
stitution. The reason of this difference is that Holland is
desirous of unity and indivisibility, and that Friesland pre
fers the federal union as it now stands. It is the differing
interest that occasions this differing opinion, and it will not
improbably be a source of long discord, for each of the parties
attaches to its own opinion that obstinacy and bigotry that
interest always communicates to political opinions. As to
the construction of the intended convention, a single as
sembly without control, it is considered on both sides as
an immaterial circumstance, and they are entirely satisfied
with the idea that it will be a perfect imitation of the French
Assembly. It is remarkable that they pride themselves upon
this imitation at the very moment when the French Assembly
proclaim their abandonment of the system, from a convic
tion of the manifold injuries it has done them.

It has been mentioned in a former letter that a Committee
of eleven members of the French Convention had been ap
pointed to prepare what they called the organic laws for the
Constitution. It was an expedient contrived by the party
now dominant, to get rid entirely of the Constitution of
1793, which had undergone the form of an acceptance by
the people, but the character of which is too anarchical for
the public opinion of this time, and which had the more
unpardonable defect of having been made by the Jacobin

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 383

party. The commission of eleven have therefore made their
report.1 They propose another Constitution altogether
different from that of 1793, and it is now under the discus
sion of the Assembly. The plan contains less of the wild
fire than was so liberally scattered through the other, and
the article of the declaration of rights, which sanctifies the
right of insurrection, is removed. The legislative body is
to be divided, but the two houses are not invested with
equal powers. The council of elders (that is the Senate,)
will have no right to originate any laws, but only a negative
upon those proposed by the council of five hundred or Repre
sentatives. The executive power is to consist of a Directory
of five persons, appointed by the Legislature, without a
negative upon the laws, and to be presided alternately by
each of its members for three months at a time. You can
easily judge without any further details whether this Con
stitution is likely to establish the reign of liberty in France,
any more than those that have been already proposed or
accepted.2 The reporter of the Committee, Boissy d'Anglas,
is a member who has rapidly risen to reputation since the
fall of Robespierre, and is at this time perhaps the most
popular member of the Convention. His discourse which
accompanied the report was received with great applause,
and as it gives a good idea of the fashionable political doc
trines of the present day, I shall send you a copy of it. You
will perceive that he quotes your authority in support of
a divided legislature, but his very quotation shows that he
knew as little of you as of your book.

Whether the Constitution will be adopted or not, is very
problematical ; whether it will ever be put into execution, is
much more so. The Convention itself labors under a great

1 June 23.

1 The proposed measure is described in Cambridge Modern History, VIII. 392.

384 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

load of unpopularity, being equally detested by the Jacobins
and by the Royalists. Great numbers of the Moderates
are said to be of this latter description. For several months
past they have supported the Convention, only because they
were afraid that its dissolution would restore the reign of the
Jacobins ; but they grow stronger, or imagine so, from day
to day, and they begin already to declare against the Conven
tion themselves. This disposition is so clearly manifested
that another crisis may be soon expected, and the present
appearance is, that it will produce a reconciliation and coali
tion between the Convention and the Jacobin party. The
struggle will as usual end in a convulsion, and that will
terminate in a Revolution. But whether it will be a renewal
of the 3 ist of May,1 or a counterpart to the loth of August,2
it is impossible at this distance to anticipate.

As far as can be judged from the conversation of the
French men that I meet with here, and from the accounts
of observing persons who have recently been at Paris, the
whole nation is heartily tired of revolutions, sighing for
peace and tranquility, but as little prepared for any system
that shall procure it as they ever have been at any time.
The Jacobin party is numerous and powerful, though loaded
with an immense weight of odium, and at this time really
persecuted and oppressed. The Royalists, on the other
hand, are the more formidable, because no man knows what
their strength is ; for the course of their Revolutions has
been so rapid, so violent and eccentric, that at one period
or another political hypocrisy has been to some an asylum,
to others a weapon, but practised by all, so that there is
not a man perhaps in the Republic, who has not professed
the most contradictory creeds at different periods. This

1 Insurrection of 12 Prairial, 1793.

2 1792, the date of the attack on the Tuileries.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 385

dissimulation loses all its depravity in its universality and
in the horrible necessity which occasioned it, but it has
left an indelible impression ; it has annihilated all confidence
between man and man, and introduced an universal distrust
in its stead. The people in general and the Convention
declare themselves equally hostile to both parties. The
aversion against royalty is deeply rooted in the nation, and
acquires a tenfold vigor from the dread of seeing its restora
tion, accompanied by the return and triumph of the emi
grants, whose property is the only pledge for the redemption
of the national paper and for the recompense of the republi
can armies. In short there is no Revolution whatever but
may be expected in that country, except one that shall
give them peace and a regulated liberty. If in the most
favorable circumstances the perfection of human legislation
is scarcely adequate to the construction of a government,
which may be at the same time strong to enforce the law
and weak for any abuse of its power, it may without hesita
tion be pronounced impossible in France. I suppose the
opinion is yet a political heresy, and like most other heresies
it is an eternal truth.1

At the present moment Paris is in a state of violent agi
tation, and the inveteracy of the parties discovers itself, as
it always does, upon the most trivial occasions. The
treaties and the Convention are the stages upon which it is
discovered. You will have heard doubtless before this

1 "But as to a free government, a government of laws, or any government other
than that of opinion, that is of parties, it is not to be expected either in France
or in this country. How many more years they will spend in making constitutions,
I know not, but that they will never make a constitution and execute it is evident
to every dispassionate observer. It is impossible to say how long an alchymist
will hunt for the philosopher's stone without being discouraged; but those who
imagine he will find it are blessed with a stronger built faith than has been allotted
to me." To Abigail Adams, July 30, 1795. Ms.

2C

386 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

reaches you of a song called the Reveil du peuple. It has
neither the poetical nor the musical merit of the Hymne des
Marseillais, but it is a bitter effusion against the Jacobins,
the Terrorists, and the system of blood. It has therefore
become a great favorite among the people of Paris, and at the
same time the famous hymn has lost much of its popularity.
Within the last few weeks they have become real badges
of party, and at the theatres the spectators have frequently
refused to hear the Marseillaise, and have called constantly
for the other.

On the I4th of this month the National Convention cele
brated the anniversary of the destruction of the Bastille.
They had the Marseillaise hymn performed in their presence,
and, inspired by a moment of enthusiasm or by a settled
policy, they joined with great ardor in the chorus. One of
the members immediately proposed, and the assembly as
immediately decreed, that this hymn should be sung every
morning by the guard that attends the Convention. The
next day the guard was surrounded by a crowd of people
who would not allow them to execute the decree, and they
themselves refused to do it. The Convention without re
pealing their decree passed to the order of the day on being
informed that it was not complied with. At the theatre all
the patriotic songs were excluded excepting only the Reveil
du peuple. The Committees of Government prohibited
the singing of any songs whatever upon the theatres other
than those belonging to the plays performed. The actors
obeyed, but the song was sung by the spectators themselves,
not without manifestations of indignation against the Con
vention.

In the mean time the rebellion in the Vendee has again
assumed a formidable aspect, and four or five thousand
emigrants from England have landed to join the Royalists

I79S1 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 387

in those Departments. They are said to be blocked up,
however, in Quiberon, and a force so considerable is sent
into that quarter, that the total extinction of the rebellion
is promised, and expected very soon to be effected.

The armies in Spain retain their superiority, but do not
exert it to advance any further into the country. That of
Italy, after a number of successive engagements during the
ten last days of June, has abandoned its stations upon the
river of Genoa ; but Kellermann tells his troops that they
must not call it a retreat. The armies on the Rhine are still
employed upon the siege of Mentz, and it is supposed they
will soon attempt to cross the river. At sea there has been
another naval engagement, in which France has lost three
more ships of the line, besides a frigate in the Mediterranean.
Their maritime war has invariably been as disastrous as that
by land has been successful.

The German Diet have come to a formal conclusion to
enter into negotiations with France under the mediation of
the King of Prussia. This negotiation will certainly be
protracted considerably, because the terms for which the
parties are prepared differ so widely, that they cannot imme
diately be brought together.

The Russian fleet, stipulated by the late treaty with Great
Britain to be sent into the North Sea, has arrived at Copen
hagen, and sailed again from thence. There are twelve
ships of the line and eight frigates, and they have English
pilots on board, who were sent to join them at Copenhagen.

The British Government persist with a perseverance
which nothing but the national hatred against France could
support in the continuance of the war. To ruin totally the
maritime power of their enemy is their object, and they have
been but too successful in effecting it. They purchase it
however at a price sufficiently dear. The debt accumulates,

388 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

the people really suffer much by the war and are weary of it.
The revolutionists are active, restless, indefatigable, and will
finally centre all their efforts in one point which they con
sider as an inevitable step towards all the others that they
have at heart. The sword of Damocles hangs over the head
that wears the crown ; it is now protected only by a degree
of personal consideration possessed by the wearer. But
the apparent successor and his brothers are not only desti
tute of this shield, but are continually laying themselves
open to attack and daily degrading themselves in the public
opinion. Their defects to all appearance are irretrievable,
for they proceed from weakness of character and debility
of understanding. The combustible materials are collecting
in such masses there that they cannot fail sooner or later to
meet a spark that shall enkindle them, and the explosion of a
Revolution will revenge the injuries of the human race.

The prophecy of Rousseau, that the ancient monarchies
of Europe cannot last much longer, becomes more and more
infallible. Hereditary prerogatives and hereditary privi
leges are in their own nature invidious and odious to those
excluded from them. They have been maintained only by
long and undisputed establishment. From the moment
when the great mass of the nations in Europe were taught
to inquire, why is this or that man possessed of such or such
an enjoyment at our expense, and of which we are deprived,
the signal was given of a civil war in the social arrangement
of Europe, which cannot finish but with the total ruin of their
feudal constitutions. The opinions upon the theory of
government are wild, discordant and absurd, but the republi
can spirit is diffused everywhere. The essence of all the
republicanism to be met with consists in aversion to the
principle of inheritance. But this aversion is most exten
sively propagated; it is profound and inveterate. It must

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 389

eventually lead to the destruction of the relics which yet
remain of the feudal aristocracy. Whether the arts, the
sciences and the civilization of Europe will not all perish
with it, must yet remain a problem. If the experience of
France gives an argument for analogy, nothing but the return
of barbarism is to be expected. The French revolutions of
the last six years have contributed more to the restoration
of Vandalic ignorance, than whole centuries can retrieve, and
their progress has given an alarming proof of what would
have been deemed a frantic delirium, had it been predicted.
It is that the arts and sciences themselves, that genius,
talents, and learning, are in the most enlightened periods
of the human history liable to become objects of proscription
to political fanaticism. The myrmidons of Robespierre were
as ready to burn libraries as the followers of Omar; and if
the principle is finally to prevail, which puts the scepter of
sovereignty into the hands of the European Sans Culottes,
they will soon reduce everything to the level of their own
ignorance.

In this country the revolutionary principles have indeed
made but little progress. The mass of the people is attached
as much as ever, perhaps more, to their old constitution, or
rather to the House of Orange. The caresses of the new
administration have made few converts among the troops,
who desert and quit the service in such numbers that the
national army will be reduced to nothing. There is so
little dependence placed upon the Swiss, that the States
General have determined to disband them. An army of
twenty-five thousand Frenchmen is to be employed in the
pay of this Republic instead of that which is melting away
before the Revolution. The patriotic party is divided, one
assembly springs up in opposition to another, club thunders
against club, and the confusion of Babel would soon be

390 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

followed by the dispersion of the builders, but for the influ
ence and control of their new allies, whose armies are pledged
for the maintenance of the public tranquility.

By the last vessel that went from Rotterdam to Boston I
sent you the work of Martens and the Politique des Cabinets
de r Europe, which contains a memoire of Mr. Turgot during
his ministry, very deserving of an American's attention. By
the present opportunity I send several new publications
lately received from Paris. They discover in some degree
the state of the public mind, and furnish materials for the
history of a philosophical revolution. The man that can
read them and retain an ardor for revolutions must indeed
possess more philosophy than humanity.1

I am, &c.

TO SYLVANUS BOURNE

THE HAGUE, August 15, 1795.

The object of the consular office is the benefit of merchants
and mariners in countries other than their own ; it is to
procure facilities and conveniences for them that this insti
tution is appropriated. The legislature will therefore
necessarily consult their feelings and opinions, and I am
afraid that they would consider consular powers rather as a
burden upon them than as an advantage to them. The
spirit of commerce is averse to every species of restraint,

1 "The character of the American people is so universally and essentially republi
can; civil and political liberty is a possession so thoroughly incorporated in the
existence of every individual, that I cannot believe, and never have believed the
aristocratic faction, which has been the theme of so much newspaper declamation
among us, to be any thing else than one of the loci communes of men who were
anxious to obtain the favor of their fellow citizens, by affecting an extraordinary
anxiety for their welfare." To N. Freeman, August I, 1795. Ms.

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 391

and it would probably consider in that light every power of
any utility that could be given to a consul.

An increase of emoluments would meet with the same
opposition. The system of economy in all public expenses
is in general carried further with us than an enlightened
interest would advise, and a generous compensation will not
readily be obtained for the services of an office, which in
the minds of our countrymen is of questionable utility.

The consular appointments of the government have in
several instances been unpopular, but the difficulty of filling
every place well would not disappear by an augmentation
of powers or of compensation. It would even be increased
in proportion to them, upon the natural principle that the
character of the officer should be confidential in proportion
to the magnitude of the trust. To make the office an object
of acceptance to American citizens qualified to fill it well,
must be made very expensive, for there are many European
ports where there is a great commerce with the United States,
and where no American citizen qualified for such a station
resides. In all such places, if the principle that a consul
must be a citizen is established, the office alone must be
made an inducement for a respectable American citizen to
leave his country, and every thing that is precious and valu
able annexed to that name, in order to fill it, or there must
be no consul at the place.

The misfortune in this case is that almost all the argu
ments that can apply to the subject are two edged swords,
that may be used on both sides of the question : for instance
all the examples of misconduct mentioned in your letter
might be adduced as reasons for not augmenting the authority
or profits of the office. Your argument stands thus : some
of the consuls betray their trust ; therefore increase the im
portance of the office and appoint men who will not betray

392 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

the trust. But the opposite arguments : some of the con
suls betray their trust; you cannot get confidential men
for the office without incurring a heavier expense than the
public utility of their services in it will warrant ; therefore
do not make the office more important. If the powers
already given are abused, do not give others, the abuse
of which would be more pernicious. If the trifling compensa
tion now given is yet undeserved, be careful not to increase
it. ...

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE1
No. [EDMUND RANDOLPH]

THE HAGUE, August 20, 1795.
DEAR SIR:

From the present situation of the nations of Europe, and
from reflections to which my own experience as well as that
of others has given occasion, it has occurred to me, that
some advantage would be derived from the establishment
of some general rules and principles by the government of
the United States, to serve as directions to their agents,
with respect to the delivery of passports, or any other papers,
tending to procure in behalf of the persons to whom they were
given, the enjoyment of advantages attending the charac
ter of an American citizen.

In many parts of Europe at this time a passport is a paper
of indispensable necessity to every traveller, and indeed to
every individual in a country other than his own. Among
the Americans, who are at this time in great numbers in
different parts of Europe, some few have taken the precau
tion to provide themselves with passports from the Depart-

1 Randolph retired from the office of Secretary of State, August 20, and Pickering
was acting Secretary until December 10, when he received a commission as Secretary.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 393

ment of State ; but the far greater number come from home
without any, and of course apply for them to the Ministers
or other agents of the United States, in the countries where
they respectively are, when they find the need of such a
paper. It happens not unfrequently under these circum
stances, that a real citizen of the United States and fully
entitled to their protection, appears to demand a passport,
without having any such proof of his citizenship, as the rigor
of all judicial tribunals would require as evidence of facts.
At the same time there are great numbers of impostors who
oftenendeavor fraudulently to obtain passports as Americans.
The inattention, which is common with those of the first
class, facilitates the success of the others, and where the
delivery of passports is left entirely to the discretion of every
individual agent, there must be danger that the protection
of the United States will be extended where it is not due,
or denied where it is.

The special evidence of citizenship required by some of
the consuls, is a certificate from the proper office in any one
of the United States. This is a species of evidence so custom
ary and apparently so substantial, that in the present
state of things it cannot reasonably be rejected as incompe
tent to authorize the demand of a passport. But in truth
it is a species of evidence often possessed by persons who have
very little claim to the protection of the United States, be
sides its being liable to pass into hands that have no right
to it at all.

There is many an European who, having resided a year or
two in some one of the United States, and having been
naturalized for his personal convenience, has returned to
Europe with his certificate in his pocket, which he now
employs to claim all the privileges of the American name.
In conformity to the universal practise, I have thought

394 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

myself not at liberty to refuse passports to naturalized
citizens ; but it has appeared to me that when an adopted
member of any political association ceases to bear any
portion of its burthens, he cannot in reason and justice
claim its correlative protection. The late naturalization
law will, however, reform the tendency to such abuses in
future.1

The flag of the United States is liable to the same misuse
with the character of citizen, and owing to the same reasons.
The advantages of a neutral flag, insulted and abused as it
has been, and still is, are however so great that every expedi
ent has been used to procure it for many vessels that have
never been out of the European seas. The consuls have
been applied to for papers to serve as substitutes to those
which belong to vessels of the United States, and some of
them have accordingly delivered papers more or less irregu
lar. It has been observed to me repeatedly by Europeans,
that the American flag is often worn by vessels having no
right to it, and it has been a subject of complaint from several
Americans, whose fair trade is injured by this unauthorized
participation. In one of the instances mentioned in my
last letter, the captain of an English built vessel assumed the
flag of the United States without any papers whatever, and
upon the sole ground that he was himself an American
citizen.2 It is not supposed that the mere personal title
of the captain can authorize the employment of the Ameri
can colors. Whether any papers that can be delivered by a
consul have more efficacy to communicate the right, is at
least questionable ; but if consular papers are understood
to have a validity for this effect, it would perhaps be useful

1 Law of January 29, 1795, Statutes at Large, I. 414.

2 Charles Cowing, whose arrest came to the notice of Adams through Joshua
Barney, then in command of a French ship of the line.

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 395

that their discretion should be guided in the delivery of
them by the instructions of the government.

Such instructions may possibly be especially necessary
to those consuls of the United States who are themselves
foreigners, and from their particular situations and interests,
may be more susceptible of giving an extension rather too
liberal to the participation of privileges that belong prop
erly to Americans or citizens of a neutral nation.

The consuls with whom I have been in regular correspond
ence make repeated complaints of the footing of the con
sular establishment at present. They are of opinion that
the powers and emoluments annexed to the office are equally
incompetent. The representations of Mr. Delius l have
heretofore been transmitted to your department, and I
understand from Mr. Bourne that he has more than once
written to you upon the subject himself.

The relative situation of the United States towards the
nations of Europe since the commencement of the present
maritime war is new, and its state of neutrality naturally
occasions a variety of combinations, which may deserve
the attention of the government in a greater degree than
their intrinsic importance could claim. The misuse of the
flag, the juggling of a passport, or even the occasional irregu
lar employment of official means for the furtherance of
foreign commercial speculations, may be in every single
instance of minor importance; but when the examples are
frequently repeated, when they may be attended with
consequences involving more or less the national interest,
and when they result from a state of things which, although
temporary, will perhaps be frequently renewed, it is viewed
as an obligation of duty to those within whose observation
such facts are placed to give notice of them.

1 Arnold Delius, of Bremen.

396 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

With respect to passports, it might be of public utility that
the American agents be instructed to deliver them in such
cases as the government may think proper to prescribe,
and upon the previous production of some special evidence
in support of the demand. But in order to avoid an un
favorable operation of any such regulation u*pon many real
American citizens, they must be in general aware of the
importance to their own interest, that they should always
take passports, or at least the evidence upon which they
may be entitled to demand them, before they sail from the
United States. Upon the subject of the flag, some sort of
directions particular to those consuls or agents who are not
citizens of the United States, may prevent the repetition of
abuses which have taken place.1

I have the honor, &c.

LETTER OF CREDENCE
To OUR GREAT AND GOOD FRIEND His BRITANNIC MAJESTY

Great and Good Friend.

To testify to your Majesty the sincerity of the government of
the United States in its negotiations, I have transmitted to John
Quincy Adams, Minister Resident of the United States of America
at the Hague, the Ratification of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce
and Navigation, concluded and signed on the iQth day of Novem
ber, 1794, by the Plenipotentiaries of your Majesty and of the
United States : and the said John Quincy Adams is instructed to
take the necessary measures for the exchange of the Ratifications.
I beseech your Majesty, therefore, to give full credence to whatever
he shall say to you, on the part of the United States, concerning the
same ; and to receive the said Ratification in the name of, and
on the part of, the United States of America, when it shall be

1 See Writings of James Monroe, II. 320.

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 397

tendered by him. I pray God to have your Majesty in his holy
keeping.

Written at Philadelphia this 25th day of August in the year of
our Lord 1795.

(Signed) GEO. WASHINGTON.

By the special command of the President of the United States.

(Signed) TIMOTHY PICKERING,
at this time executing the office of Secretary of State.

INSTRUCTIONS
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, August 25, 1795.

Separate instructions for Mr. Adams, relative to the exchange of
ratifications, which Mr. Deas will be directed to execute, if
Mr. Adams does not go over before the 2Oth Day of October,
1795-
SIR,

The first part of the business, for which you are called to London
by my letter of the 14 instant, is the exchange of ratifications
of the late treaty between the United States and Great Britain.

The documents, now transmitted, as relating thereto, are I, a
copy of that letter; 2, a printed but authentic copy of the treaty
and resolution of the Senate advising the ratification ; 3, a copy
of the memorial from the Department of State to the British min
ister plenipotentiary near the United States ; and 4, a letter from
the President to his Britannic majesty, indicating the functions,
which you are destined to fulfil.

At the earliest possible moment after your arrival in London,
you will communicate to the proper persons belonging to the
British ministry, your mission, as stated in the memorial ; and
request that the conferences necessary to its conclusion, may be
expedited.

When you shall come into conference, you will declare, that you
are possessed of the ratification, as it was promised in the memo
rial ; but that you are instructed to inquire into the existence of a

398 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

late order, said to be issued under the authority of his Britannic
majesty, for the seizure of the provision vessels, even of neutral
nations.1 If the order does not exist, or existing does not op
erate on the vessels of the United States, you will proceed to
accomplish the exchange of ratifications, as is hereinafter men
tioned. If the order does exist, and does operate on the vessels of
the United States, you will make such representations, as that order
shall suggest relative to the interests and situation of the United
States ; to the end that it may be removed ; and particularly,
that the ratification of the President must not be construed into
an admission of the legality of the said order. Minute instructions
cannot now be given, concerning that order, as our accounts of it
are very imperfect. But if after every prudent effort, you find
that it cannot be removed, its continuance is not to be an obstacle
to the exchange of ratifications.

When, therefore, these preliminaries as to the order shall be
finished, you will produce the President's ratification ; and offer to
exchange the same, in behalf of the United States, for an equivalent
ratification on the part of his Britannic majesty ; that is, for a
ratification, corresponding with the advice and consent of the
Senate.

The negotiations to be made after the exchange of ratifications
will be marked out in other instructions.

If on the part of the British King a ratification shall be exchanged,
conformably with that of the President ; then you will immediately
dispatch, by the most expeditious and safe conveyances, three
copies of the British ratification, addressed to this Department.
For the attainment of expedition and safety, you will be at liberty
to incur a reasonable expense. Congress will meet on the first
Monday in December next, and it is therefore desireable that the
British ratification should be here early enough for the taking
of certain necessary steps, concerning the treaty before that time.

1 This order in council was issued in April, 1795, but the text was not published.
It was soon after revoked, and compensation made for seizures under it was ob
tained under Article VII of the Jay treaty.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 399

You will also, in the event of an exchange of ratifications, urge
that orders be immediately given for the execution of the second
article, respecting the evacuation of the posts, and for the proper
measures, which are thereby provided to be taken by concert
between the government of the United States and the British
Governor General in America for settling the previous arrange
ments, which may be necessary, respecting the delivery of the said
posts.

The agreement which is to be made in pursuance of the 8th
article, respecting the pay of commissioners, will also be attended
to. In the fixing of the quantum, you will observe due economy.
Mr. Hammond has intimated £150x3 sterling per annum to each;
except the commissioners for determining the river St Croix, for
whom £1000 per annum was proposed. Beyond these sums you
are not to go, and you will endeavor to reduce them as low as
propriety will admit.

If his Britannic majesty shall refuse to ratify on the condition
required by the Senate, you will say, that being possessed of only
one form of ratification, you will without delay forward to the
President his said majesty's determination ; and will wait without
taking a definite step, until you shall receive further orders. In
this case you will perceive the importance of the information to us ;
and that it will be necessary, unless you have at least two im
mediate opportunities, to hire an advice boat to bring the intelli
gence to Philadelphia, or to some port, near at hand.

If Mr. Pinckney should unexpectedly return to London before
this part of the business is finished, you will place it in his hands
(he being the ordinary minister, and having co-operated in the
negotiation) ; unless, indeed, it shall appear to Mr. Pinckney
unadviseable for him to enter into it. By the special command of
the President.

TIMOTHY PICKERING,

at this time executing the office of Secretary of State.

400 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, August 31, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR :

The total defeat of the emigrants who had effected a
descent in Britanny, as mentioned in my last letter, and the
peace between France and Spain, signed at Basle on the 22nd
of July, and since ratified by both parties, are events of
such consequence that they will be fully known in America
before this letter can reach you. It is scarcely possible
that any interesting intelligence should be first conveyed
from hence to America. The local position of the country
forbids it, and although I have constantly taken all possible
pains to communicate the most recent news, as far as I can
conjecture from the dates when I presume my letters
have been received, I must conclude that in general they
have only been corroborative of accounts contained in news
papers already out of date.

A circumstance which upon the brilliant theories of human
perfectibility ought to be considered as much more important
than either of the former, is the adoption by the Convention
of the Constitution lately proposed by the Committee of
Eleven. Several considerable alterations have been the re
sult of a discussion which has lasted nearly two months, but
the division of the legislative body into two Councils, and
the attribution of the executive power to a third assembly of
five persons with the title of Directory, are retained. The
people and the armies are still to pronounce upon the whole
plan, and then nothing will remain but to destroy it by
another revolution, which will probably take place in less
than a thousand years.

It is worth remarking that in the midst of the deliberations
upon this democratic constitution (for they still give it

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 401

that epithet without any scruples,) the Great Sieyes, as one
of my honest Dutch friends calls him, came out with another
democratic Constitution, upon a plan entirely new and en
tirely his own. This prodigy of genius consisted in the
invention of three or four new words, and in a sort of amal
gamation of the system proposed by the Committee of
eleven, with an institution similar to that of the Parlia
ments under the ancien regime. His legislature was to be
merely a judicial tribunal, whose functions should be to
decide between a petitioning assembly and a government.
But as three assemblies were not enough for him, he pro
posed a fourth, whose sole functions should be to make such
alterations as from time to time should be found necessary
in the existing Constitution. The great Sieyes applauds
himself and congratulates his country for having originated
the luminous idea of this institution, and indeed some
persons are of opinion that this Assembly would be more
constantly busy than any of the others. The Convention,
however, unanimously rejected the plan, and Sieyes the
great has doubtless put it back into his porte-feuille, to be
used upon the next occasion that shall offer for making a
democratic constitution for France.

He did not, however, suffer the occasion to pass by without
repeating the elegant pleasantry of Franklin, of Mirabcau,
and of Condorcet, upon the system of balances. Upon this
subject, together with an abundance of witticisms from the
very refuse of commonplace, he advanced several things,
for which it is impossible to say whether the credit is to
be given partly to his ignorance, or whether it is all due to
deliberate intention and a philosophical disregard for truth.

He said for instance that the idea of separating the Constit
uent authority from that of the ordinary legislative power
originated in France, that it was a glorious discovery for

2D

402 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

which all the credit was due to the French nation, and
that it was made in the year 1789.

In his past-vamp'd-future-old-reviv'd-new piece of decla
mation against the balancing system, he says :

I shall not insist upon the example of England, because the
hereditary stain that is annexed to the system there, is a defect
not essential to the system itself and cannot fairly be charged to it,
but only examine what the practical effect of the system is every
where else where it is established. The double legislature is, as has
been said, like two horses pulling the chariot in opposite directions.
With all their pulling the chariot moves not an inch, until the
royal coachman mounts the box. Now you do not chuse to have
a royal coachman. Wherever this system prevails the legislative
assemblies are mere formal shadows, and the real legislator is
the executive power.

These opinions, or pretended opinions, thus expressed,
appear to me very remarkable, and they are the more so
because they come from a man, who seems to affect the
government of the earth, who has in fact that of France
in a great degree, and who possesses all the qualities by
which the late Roman historian says that Augustus was
conducted to that of the world.

The primary Assemblies who are to decide upon the Con
stitution are to be convoked on the 6th of next month,
and the Constitutional Legislature is to be elected immedi
ately after. The precipitation with which the business is
conducted is grounded upon the necessity they are under
to leave no time for the formation of cabals against the
acceptance. There is another measure which cannot easily
be reconciled with the Constitutional theory, but which
may be legitimated by the omnipotent argument of necessity.
At the first election for the Constitutional Legislature the
choice of the people is not to have an unlimited liberty.

i795l JOHN QUIXCY ADAMS 403

Five hundred members of the present Convention must be
chosen, or rather the Assembly has decreed that it will change
itself into a Constitutional Legislature, one-third of the
numbers of which are to be rcchosen, or changed, by a new
election. They are afraid of the consequences that would
result at the present moment from an appeal to the voice of
the people, without prescribing two-thirds of what that
voice must answer.1

Upon the same principle at one of the last sessions of
the Convention they dissolved at one stroke all the popular
societies throughout the Republic. Their books and papers
are ordered to be delivered up to the respective munici
palities, and the halls of their assembly arc to be shut up
forever. Such is the present system. The popular societies
have been the most efficacious of all the instruments cm-
ployed by the tyranny under which France has recently
suffered, and they are formally proscribed by the proposed
constitution. But they appear not less than Archangel
ruined, and are still extremely formidable.2

1 The decrees of Fructidor 5 and 13, which led to the overthrow of this Consti
tution of 1795.

1 "It is not surprising that the French government should so openly discounte
nance these Societies in this country, because, independent of the numerous evils,
which their own experience has convinced them to be the result of such institutions,
they perhaps expect to find from that quarter the greatest impediments to the
species of influence which they intend to possess and use in the concerns of this
republic. The clubs arc restless and unmanageable, and being spread all over the
country, would be much more unwieldy as objects of direction, than authorities
legally constituted, and assembled in one spot. Nor is it an unreasonable conjec
ture, that in the progress of these institutions, a coalition between those of France
and of the Low Countries for their mutual support may be attempted ; and that
it may be considered as very formidable to the French government. On the other
hand, the complacency of the legal assemblies here towards the same clubs, and
even the parade of eulogium they bestow on them, is not less accountable; it is
founded upon the consciousness that the clubs internally have all the powers of the
people in their hands, and that the legislative bodies have no support, other than
that of the French troops." To the Secretary of State, July '25, 1795. Ms.

404 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

But the victory of the party called Moderates over that
of the Jacobins is so nearly complete, that it has already
divided itself into two parties, who are upon terms of mu
tual opposition, and may very soon be at open war. They
consist on one side of the fragments of the Brissotine
party, and on the other of the persons who contrived and
executed the catastrophe of Robespierre, and who on that
account are called the Thermidorian party. The present
subjects of difference between them appear to be the different
degrees of extension that they are disposed to give to the
reaction of the Revolution. The Brissotines are the strongest
in the Convention, but the other party seems to coincide
more with the present temper of the popular opinion.
The renewal of the legislative Assembly in two houses, and
the supposed transition from a Revolutionary to a constitu
tional government, will undoubtedly be a critical moment,
and will produce new political phenomena for observation.

They suppose in Paris that their peace with Spain will
produce of necessity a rupture between the latter and Great
Britain, as the cession of the Spanish part of St. Domingo is
contrary to the Treaty of Utrecht, which will furnish a
pretext, and the defenceless opulence of the Spanish com
merce will give a motive to the British ministry. It seems
as if no calculation can be too extravagant for the desperation
of that government, but I have as yet no faith in their making
war against Spain for the present, though there is no doubt
but it is wished at Paris they may.

They are also dissatisfied with the treaty between Great
Britain and the United States, as I wrote you more than
three months since that they would be, whatever the con
tents of the treaty might be. At that time they did not
blush to say that to be upon bad terms with Britain was
an obligation of gratitude incumbent upon the United States ;

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 405

and at present they are displeased with the articles because
they are so with the treaty itself.

What effects their influence will produce in America I
know not. But that it will work with all its power, I am
very certain. I have reason to suppose, however, that they
think their two last Ministers in the United States have
spent them too much money there, and the principal reason
for which they recalled the last was the expense of his bad
bargains, which have hitherto procured them nothing but
grain and flour. Their new Minister's instructions will
doubtless oblige him to greater economy. I know not
whether they will lose their influence on that account.

The present war is at this time nothing more in reality than
a contest of national rivalship between France and Britain.
The interest of all the maritime nations is opposed to the
success of the latter, and the French naval power has suffered
such heavy losses, and is so much reduced, that they can
henceforth have no hopes of being able to resist that of their
enemy, but by uniting all the maritime force in Europe with
their own against it. They arc also desirous that the United
States should be engaged on their side, for the benefit of an
assistance negative in its nature, as Britain would be de
prived of the great and growing profit of her commerce
with us in the case of a war. The system of neutrality
which has been pursued with so much firmness and per
severance by the United States has never been perfectly
relished by the French governing men. It becomes more
and more unpleasant to them in proportion as the necessity
of peace is felt more forcibly by themselves, and the policy
employed by them for effecting their purpose is to attack
the President of the United States. This has 'been, I am
fully convinced, the real system from the time when Genet
was sent, and it will be pursued with more or less consistency

406 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

until they succeed in drawing us into a war, or until they
shall be at peace. The art of destroying reputations, if it
had not always been well understood in France, might have
attained a considerable degree of perfection merely by the
experience of their last years. It has been practised with
such universal success among themselves, by all their
parties and under all their changes, that it is reduced to a
regular system, the operation of which is merely mechanical.

The affairs of this country though intimately connected
with those of France bear an aspect entirely different. The
popular societies which are altogether proscribed in that
Republic are very powerful here. There is now in session
at this place an assembly styling itself a central club, con
sisting of deputies from most of the clubs throughout the
Province ; there are others of the same kind in the other
Provinces. The great object of their pursuit is the disso
lution of the Provincial government, and the assembling
of a National Convention for the whole people. This
plan is extremely popular in this Province ; it has met how
ever with strenuous opposition from five of the others, but
will finally prevail by the means of the popular societies.

In the meantime they are under a constant apprehension of
being invaded on the part of Prussia. They have an
army of twenty-five thousand French troops for their de
fence, but a great proportion of their own army has deserted.

They have at length made their appearance with their
naval armament, and by the junction of all the forces they
could muster they were two or three days at sea with six
or eight ships of the line and as many frigates. But the
condition of the ships was such that they could scarcely
keep above water, and upon the first suspicion of the ap
proach of the British and Russian fleet they returned to
the Texel, where they now remain. They have recently

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 407

had one frigate taken after a severe action against superior
force.

Their commerce in the meantime is a mere passive victim
to the British force at sea, and their East India Company is
losing all their ships one after the other, without being
able to lift a hand for their protection.

The public treasury is empty. They have to pay between
one and two hundred millions of florins for arrearages, the
remainder of an hundred millions for the friendship of France,
and the heavy expenses which daily accrue from their state
of war, besides those to which they are at all times subjected.1

The plate of every individual has already been required
for the public exigencies and delivered. A dry tax of six per
cent upon all capitals is to be paid before the end of the year,
and will be far from supplying the monies that are immedi
ately wanted. The scarcity of provisions has been great,
but much exaggerated ; there have not been the symptoms
of a famine, and the harvest now gathering is uncommonly
favorable.

The scarcity has been also great in England. It is in
conceivable how the government of that country retain all
their force, and how the price of their funds is supported
in the midst of their losses and defeats. Their naval success
and the force of national antipathy are the only things that
can account for it. They have not as yet discovered any
intention whatever to negotiate with France, though it is
pretended that a division has taken place in the Privy Council

1 "The French assignats have never had a compulsive circulation here except
in a very limited degree, and for the necessary supply of the French troops. Since
the treaty of alliance, and since the French army in this country is engaged in the
pay of this government, the assignats have no other course than as merchandize,
and their price current is contained in the commercial paper enclosed ; they are now
at about forty-five for one." To the Secretary of the Treasury, September 8,
1795. Ms.

4o8 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

upon the subject. They are perhaps yet waiting for the
result of new revolutions, which they expect will happen in
France ; but they will probably find themselves deceived
in their hopes arising from that source. The campaign
of this year will probably be productive of scarce any
important effect, and it is very certain that no country can
support long a war with an annual expense of twenty-four
million sterling to keep a status quo. In short the true state
of facts appears to be, that France and Britain are both
reduced to the greatest extremity, and that at present they
both persist in war from the sole hope that the enemy will
first yield to their pressure of misery. Such is the usual
issue of war.
I am, &c.

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, September 12, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR :

I received two days ago your letter from New York of
June 29. It gratified my highest ambition, as it testifies
the approbation of the President and the Secretaries upon
my conduct and correspondence, and my strongest affections,
as it informed me of the health of my dearest friends.1

1"I have no language to express to you the pleasure I have received from the
satisfaction you have given to the President and Secretary of State, as well as from
the clear, comprehensive and masterly accounts in your letters to me of the public
affairs of nations in Europe, whose situation and politics it most concerns us to
know. Go on, my dear son, and by a diligent exertion of your genius and abilities,
continue to deserve well of your father, but especially of your country. The more
faithfully you have discharged and fulfilled your duty to me, the more anxious I
have been lest I may not have fulfilled mine to you with so much punctuality." John
Adams to John Quincy Adams, Quincy, April 26, 1795, Ms. Four of the letters
were sent to President Washington, who wrote to John Adams, August 20, 1795 :
"They contain a great deal of interesting matter, and No. 9 [May 22] discloses
much important information and political insight. Mr. J. Adams, your son, must

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 409

At the same time I received a letter from my brother
Charles, and papers with accounts of popular movements
in opposition to the treaty, which give me great anxiety.
They were not indeed unexpected to me, because I have
long since been satisfied that the most powerful engines of
influence among us would be set at work upon this occasion.
My letters from the month of May to this time will give you
my opinions and conjectures on the subject; they are cor
roborated by the accounts that we now receive from America,
and they give me great solicitude, as they renew the danger
of war, which I had hopes was blown over for the present.
It is a danger so much the more formidable, because I be
lieve the intention is to draw the United States into it,
merely to make tools of them, in order to procure advan
tageous terms for others, who would leave us in the well,
after using our weight to get themselves out of it. It would
be a war in which we should have everything to lose and
nothing to gain ; a war commenced against the will of al
most the whole people, and which therefore under such a
government as ours could not be carried on with success.
The chain of consequences which present themselves to
my mind as inevitable from such a source can afford but a
wretched contemplation, and my greatest hopes of a more
favorable futurity arise from firmness and resolution of the
government.

The conduct of the British government is so well adapted
to increasing our danger of war, that I cannot but suppose
they are secretly inclined to produce it. An American can
not know, without seeing Europe to witness the fact, with

not think of retiring from the walk he is in. His prospects, if he continues in it are
fair, and I shall be much mistaken if, in as short a period as can well be expected*
he is not found at the head of the diplomatic corps, let the government be admin
istered by whomsoever the people may choose." Ms.

410 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

what pleasure and exultation all the partizans of monarchy
receive accounts of any popular commotions in America.
The insurrection of the last summer was a delicious feast
for them,1 and they did not fail to make the most liberal use
of it ; they will undoubtedly do the same upon this occasion.
They are all inimical to the government of the United States,
because it furnishes a constant example to those who main
tain the superior excellence of a Republican system. They
wish to see some proof of extravagance or folly in America,
which they can have the pleasure of attributing to the prev
alence of republicanism, as they have done very success
fully with respect to the frenzies of France.

As to the treaty itself, the objection to the condition of
the twelfth article appears to be well grounded ; it was not
in the plan which was shown to me when I was in London,
and of which I wrote you from thence, and I should have
been surprised had it been submitted to on any account
whatever. But in every other respect it still appears to me
as it did at that time preferable to a war. I will even add
at present, that it is in my mind preferable to no agreement
at all, upon the principal subjects to which it refers.2 But
when people among us talk of Britain's being at her last
gasp, and of her being totally ruined if the United States
should fall upon her, we can but hope for the credit of the

1The "Whiskey Insurrection" of 1794.

2 Jay believed that this article, relating to trade with the West Indies, broke the
ice, "that is, it breaks in upon the [English] navigation act. The least stream from
a mass of water passing through a bank will enlarge its passage. The very article
stipulates that the arrangements to succeed it shall have in view the further ex
tension of commerce." Jay to Washington, March 6, 1795. Correspondence and
Public Papers of John Jay, IV. 170. Hamilton ("Camillus") considered that the
Senate wisely regarded the article as "less liberal" than could with reason be ex
pected. Works, V. 161. Objection was made to the proposal to prohibit the
transportation in American vessels to any foreign country except Great Britain,
of sugar, cotton, coffee, or molasses. The article was suspended by the Senate.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 411

speaker, that his assertion is only unfounded and the result
of ignorance.

The force of Great Britain is so far from being exhausted,
that her maritime power was never at any period so great
as it is at present. Her naval superiority is everywhere so
indisputably established that in the Mediterranean, on the
ocean, in the channel, or in the North sea, a French or a
Dutch armed vessel can scarce venture out of an harbor with
out being intercepted. Scarce a week passes by without the
coasts of this country's being insulted by her men of war,
and in France there is not the smallest resistance attempted
against the landing of emigrant expeditions from England,
although one considerable corps of them has been exter
minated after their descent was effected. The French frig
ates which during the last season were very successful
against their British commerce have all been taken, or dare
not keep the sea, and for several months past there has been
scarce a single capture made by them, while all the ships of
the Dutch East India Company are falling into the hands of
their enemies, the helpless victims of the maritime impo
tence opposed against the British power.1

The state of their finances is equally far from being ex
hausted, and equally superior to those of France or of Hol
land. A loan of twenty-four millions sterling for the present

1 "This inability for resistance has distressing consequences, as it leaves the
commerce of this republic entirely defenceless; its losses have accordingly been
very great, and information has lately been received of eight ships richly laden
belonging to the East India Company having fallen into the hands of the English.
This property is not as yet appropriated to the captors by right of conquest, but
is retained in trust for such of the Dutch owners as are not under the influence of
the French. It is not expected, however, that it will ever be restored, and the only
condition upon which there is any such intention professed being the reestablish-
ment of the former government, would be infinitely more adverse to the present
rulers than the loss of ten times as much property as can be within the reach of the
English." To the Secretary of State, September 14, 1795. Ms.

4i2 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

year does not even diminish the price of their funds a single
farthing.1 They have kept up to the present time, when
the season is almost past, and if twenty-four millions more
should be called for in the course of three or .four months,
they will be found with the same facility. This profusion
will be ruinous and destructive in its consequences I believe ;
but for the present it gives them a mischievous strength with
which it would not be safe to contend, and the only good
American policy is to keep as much as possible out of its
reach, to remain aloof while the convulsive energy is operat
ing, and to wait for the inevitable moment of subsequent
weakness.2

The acting Government has likewise a power within the
country which meets with no control. The parliamentary
opposition has scarcely gained a fraction since the beginning
of the war ; and although there is a party in London and in
some other commercial towns restless and which may be
come formidable, yet in general throughout the country the
popular voice is unequivocally favorable to the ministerial
system.

On the other hand I am very doubtful whether the French
government would be disposed to contract any engagements
which would bind them to a common cause with us. They
would give us as many fair words as we could wish, but
would stipulate nothing without a consideration more than
adequate to it. But if they should even tempt us by the
most unlimited obligations of inseparable participation, the

1 Annual Register, 1795, 121.

2 "I will not be answerable that we can much longer find funds, however nec
essary, for the war on a large scale, without serious ill-humor, the tendency to
which is much promoted by the very short produce in Europe and America of the
last year's harvests, and by the harshness of the present summer." Lord Auckland
to Hugh Elliot, July 16, 1795. Journal and Correspondence of Lord Auckland, III.
309-

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 413

present state of their affairs is such as can inspire but little
confidence in the permanency of their cooperation. They
continue still to be victorious by land, and they may perhaps
make advantageous treaties of peace with all the powers with
which they are still at war, except Britain. But their in
ternal situation is as unsettled, the parties among them are
as numerous, as violent, and as ready to extinguish one
another in blood as they have ever been. There is no con
fidence in the new Constitution by any of the parties, and
the popular opinions are so wide from the present system of
government, that the Convention appear to place all their
dependance in the armies. The intention to employ them to
the purpose of containing the people is attributed to the
Convention, and has been in some measure acknowledged
by some of the governing members. The tendency of their
politics is towards a military government, but it will cer
tainly not be firmly established without numerous struggles
and violent convulsions. The policy pursued by all the
European powers with whom they are now at peace is to
live with them in a simple state of peace, but to form with
them no engagements the validity of which would depend
upon the permanency of the present order of things. Their
future prospects exhibit a mere chaos of uncertainty, and
it is not possible to form a rational opinion whether they will
settle into any quiet and peaceable course of government,
or whether they will continue to float alternately between
anarchy and despotism, as the breath of their successive
factions shall impel them. One thing alone is indubitable.
It is that their present state will not be permanent. The
only safe connection that can exist with them is that which
would not be liable to follow the fate of their internal
revolutions.

I inclose herewith a copy of their Constitution as it has

414 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

been agreed to by the Convention, and is now before the
people and the armies for acceptance. It is presumed it
will be adopted. You will observe that it has exploded many
of the doctrines which but two or three years since were
articles of political faith, that were not even susceptible of
discussion. The sacred duty of insurrection has disappeared,
the popular societies are constitutionally annihilated, the
legislature is divided. The executive is invested with pomp,
and splendor, and power, and even the heresy of checks and
balances is very near becoming an article of orthodox creed.
The Constitution is indeed not so absurd as the two former,
but it will meet with the same fate. In America the great
difficulty is to unite the people in the acceptance of a Con
stitution, but when once accepted it has at least some force
and operation. In France nothing is easier than to procure
the adoption of a Constitution, but this adoption is the only
effect it produces.

The present Convention, however, in establishing this
Constitution intend to continue themselves in possession
of the legislative power, and the primary assemblies are com
manded to choose two-thirds of the members into the first
legislature. This decree is said to be extremely unpopular,
not so much because it is violating every constitutional prin
ciple by the first act with which the Constitution is to com
mence, as because there are said not to be two-thirds, nor a
tenth part, of that number, among the members of the Con
vention who possess any of the confidence of the people. It
is scarcely possible indeed to conceal how unpopular the
Assembly is with all parties, and the most conspicuous mem
bers at this time are not more exempt from the public censure
than the rest.1

Their arms have not ceased to be victorious however, and

1 See Taine, The Revolution, III. 424, 425.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 415

within these few days they have effected the passage of the
Rhine, which has long been expected, and taken Diisseldorf.
They have also recently concluded and ratified a treaty of
peace with the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel.1

The state of affairs in this country is equally unsettled,
and depends entirely upon the nature of the changes that
may take place in France. The great object of solicitude
here is the formation of a National Convention; as this
measure would by the simple fact dissolve the federal union
of their old Constitution, it meets with great opposition in
some of the provinces. The parties have grown warm, and
by mutual irritation will soon kindle into factions. In this
Province the antifederal party is almost unanimous, and the
word of federalist is rendered as odious as it has been in
France, or as the opposite word has been in America.

The present government, which has from necessity con
nected its fate with the success of the French, lives in con
stant terror of Prussia on the one side, and of Britain on the
other. They are doomed to see their lot ascertained by the
progress of events in which they have no participation, and
to expect in helpless imbecility the issue which shall proscribe
them as culprits, or fix them in their seats as the rulers of the
land. The hundred millions of florins they are paying to
France absorb all the supplies derived from the extreme re
sources to which they have already recurred. They have
made what they call a junction of their naval forces, that is
of the squadrons of the Texel and of Zeeland ; their news
papers say that the whole number of their armament thus
united amounted to upwards of twenty vessels great and
small, but I have been assured that most of them were mere
hulks that could scarcely keep above water, and they have
long since taken refuge in the Texel from the danger of an

1 William IX, who in 1803 received the title of "Elector" William I.

4i6 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

English fleet,1 which now cruises on the coast and is frequently
seen from the shore at Schevening [Scheveningen].

A Minister Plenipotentiary from the French Republic
has arrived here a few days since.2 We have hitherto
visited only by cards, in the style of etiquette still preserved
in their diplomacy, so that I have not seen him. The corps
diplomatique here is already very much reduced. The
Minister from Denmark is already gone,3 those of Portugal
and Sweden4 will soon follow; they go upon various pre
texts, but the real motive in all probability is to avoid the
necessity of acknowledging the Convention that is impend
ing. I shall then be the only accredited Minister remaining,
but I have my instructions and shall therefore be at ease.

They have determined here to recall Mr. Van Berckel,
who is to be directed to take leave in the most friendly man
ner, giving the express assurance that his recall is owing
solely to the intention of their High Mightinesses to send
another person in his stead.5 That other person is a Mr.
Van Polanen, a Zeeland Patriot, who is already in America,
having some years ago found a refuge there from public op
pression and private misfortune. I have seen his lady here,
who is much esteemed ; he is also as well spoken of as the
virulence of parties will admit.

Mr. Van Berckel's recall I understand is owing to his hav
ing dismissed or suspended a Dutch consul, for rejoicing at

1 Commanded by Admiral Adam Duncan, afterwards Viscount Duncan of
Camperdown.

2 Jean Francois Noel (1755- ), who entered upon his office September 5.
Masson sketches his career and thus sums it up: "Noel est le veritable modele du
pion qui se croit homme d'Etat." Le Departement des Affaires Etrangeres pendant
la Revolution, 163.

3 Baron de Schubart. 4 Comte de Lowenhielm.

5 Pieter J. van Berckel, who had been minister plenipotentiary of the United
Netherlands to the United States since 1783.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 417

the emancipation of this country. At least that is the
reason given. But they have in general recalled all their
ministers who were attached to the former government.

Mr. Van Lynden, who was Ambassador at London, is
now appointed to the Court of Denmark.

Mr. Dumas has finally obtained from the States General
a resolution for erasing from their registers that which
was formerly passed containing a censure upon him, and
the present resolution bears honorable testimony to his
patriotism and his irreproachable conduct. He intends to
send you this vindication of his integrity himself. He is
now ready to say his nunc dimittis.

I remain &c.

TO CHARLES ADAMS

THE HAGUE, September 15, 1795.

You observe that there are many people who wish to raise
a jealousy between Mr. Jay and another public character
nearly connected with us.1 It appears to me very probable
that such attempts will be made, and I hope with you that
they will prove abortive ; but if I have one wish in my heart
more forcible than any other, it is that the occasion for which
you suppose the plan is laid may never happen. Who
ever may be the successor of the present first magistrate will
hold a situation so uncomfortable and so dangerous, that
there is nothing in its possession to make it desirable. I am
so far from looking on that place as an object worthy of
ambition, that if my unequivocal wishes could decide the
point on the supposition of the contingency, which we all
deprecate, the election would be declined in the most decisive
and explicit manner.

1 John Adams.

2 E

4i8 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

In all ages of the world and in all countries, instability has
been the most essential characteristic of popular opinions.
It is so in America, and will infallibly become so more and
more in proportion as the increase of population shall multi
ply the quantity of opinions. The revolutions of popular
opinions are to be considered as things of course, though they
are misfortunes to the individuals, who are the subjects
of them. We are however all much alike in this respect,
and the man who has never been at different periods stren
uously attached to opposite opinions, would be one of the
rarest phenomena in creation. . . .

October 5. ... The treatment of Mr. Jay is certainly such
as does no honor to the American name. It appears to me
evident enough, that very little of the outcry of which the
treaty is made the pretence is meant to bear against that
instrument. There is a combination of personal envy of
the man, of factious enmity against the government, and of
eternal foreign influence operating unseen, all assuming the
mark of pure and exalted patriotism, to impose upon the
people ; that the mask should be assumed is neither new
nor strange ; but that it should still answer its purpose
would be surprizing, if any thing could surprize. . . .1

1 "The opposition to the treaty appears to be a concentered effort of anti-
federal and French influence working with popular passions, upon a field unhap
pily too favorable. You may recollect that before the treaty was public, I more
than once expressed to you a doubt as to its ratification, though the most obnoxious
clause it contains, the one upon the suspension of which the ratification is con
ditioned, was not then known to me. The hope that we shall ever have with Great
Britain a treaty such as we should be glad to have, is idle and absurd. The in
terests of the two nations inevitably militate too much to have such a thing prac
ticable. I am afraid we shall find it but too easy to get into a war with them."
To Sylvanus Bourne, October 10, 1795, Ms.

Four days later (October 14) he received instructions from the Department of
State to go to London. On the I9th he presented his brother and Secretary,
Thomas Boylston Adams, to the Dutch officials as charge des affaires in his absence,
and prepared for his own journey.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 419

TO DANIEL SARGENT1

THE HAGUE, October 12, 1795.

The people of the United States have in their own pos
session the choice between peace, with unparalleled pros
perity, and war, with universal calamity. It gives me pain
to see that there are so many who can be induced to hesitate
for such a length of time in making a choice. A war indeed
at present with Great Britain must be total destruction to
the commerce of our country ; for there is no maritime power
on earth that can contend with the existing naval British
force. This fact is so fully ascertained, that for these three
or four months the French and Dutch fleets have been
obliged to shelter themselves in their respective ports, and
in every part of the European ocean their enemy has held
undisputed possession. How far an American merchant
under these circumstances can be prepared for war, or willing
to support measures that must lead to it, I cannot readily
conjecture.

It is far from my wish that the proceedings of the British
government towards the United States and their citizens
should be forgotten. If resentment were a good or a safe
foundation for political measures, few Americans perhaps
would be disposed to go further than I should. But of all
the guides that a nation can follow, passion is the most
treacherous, and prudence the most faithful. If our coun
trymen can be sufficiently impressed with this truth, I be
lieve no great length of time will pass, before they will see
our national injuries avenged, with a severity which will
gratify the most inveterate enmity. . . .

1 Of Boston, born in 1731, and died in 1806.

420 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

TO W. & J. WILLINK AND N. & J. VAN
STAPHORST & HUBBARD

THE HAGUE, October 16, 1795.
GENTLEMEN :

In reply to your favor of yesterday you will permit me to
waive any further discussion relative to the bill of Dallard
and Swan. But while you have the security not only of the
Treasury order upon them, but also the bill of Lubbert and
Dumas, with yet another in case of urgent necessity, I do
not consider the payment as in the smallest degree pre
carious.

Upon what grounds Messrs. John and Francis Baring &
Co.1 assured Mr. Hubbard, that the Treasury did not ex
pect the funds sent for you would produce more than ninety
per cent, and that such sales would be satisfactory, I know
not. Such an assurance is certainly not inferable from any
directions that either you or I have received from the Treas
ury Department. It is so far from being satisfactory to me
under the instructions which I have received, that I should
now request you in the most earnest manner to give im
mediate orders for the suspension of the sales upon such
terms, but for the information in your last letter. The loss
to the United States on these sales will be such as in my
opinion can be warranted only by a conviction, founded upon
substantial reasons, that it would not be disapproved by the
Secretary of the Treasury.

As the three hundred thousand florins, lately remitted
you from the Treasury Department, were destined and
appropriated among other purposes for the payment of the
Antwerp interest, I believe that the part of the sum

1 Francis Baring (1740-1810) was the founder of the financial house of Barings.

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 421

necessary for that operation cannot be applied to any other
purpose whatever.

You observe, that "the doctrine laid down by me relative
to the payment you made of the last Antwerp interest es
tablished the propriety and justice of a debt first due having
an undeniable right to be discharged prior to one falling due
at a later period."

This reference to a former occasion, upon which I had with
regret an opinion different from yours, makes it necessary
for me to observe that your present statement draws from
what I then said an inference more extensive and general
than I think the expressions will support. I contended that
the government of the United States had the right to direct
the application of any balance in the hands of their agents
to such payments as they thought proper, that the agents
had no authority to divert a special appropriation to the
discharge of any other demand, and that if it should happen
that a double appropriation were made of the same sum, it
would then be incumbent on the agents to make payments
according to their orders as they should be demanded, so long
as their money lasted.

To this opinion I still adhere; but I think it does not by
any means involve any conclusion relative to the respective
merits of a prior or a subsequent claim to the payment of a
debt in general.

I could not intend to advance an unqualified position that
a debt first due has an undeniable right to be first paid, be
cause I never had an idea that the principle, thus unlimited,
had any foundation. There are a variety of circumstances,
which may give a superior claim to the payment the most
recently due.

Of this matter I consider the demand for the payment of
interest at its stipulated periods. Punctuality on this article

422 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

is in general a more imperious duty of the debtor, because
it is more essential to the convenience, and perhaps to the
necessities, of the creditor.

Your opinion in this respect appears to be the same ; as,
although you have not paid the instalment of principal which
became payable last June, you have paid considerable sums
of interest, which have since that time become due.

When therefore the government of the United States have
made a particular remittance, with orders to you that it
should be applied to the payment of certain interest, I do
not think you have any authority to refuse making that ap
plication, and to employ the money for the payment of an
instalment of principal, previously payable, and for the dis
charge of which other ample funds were provided, though
unfortunately they were in stocks.

I must now request, gentlemen, your final and positive
answer, whether you will supply Mr. De Wolf the sums
necessary for the punctual payment of the interest upon the
Antwerp loan payable in December.

Whatever your decision may be, it will doubtless be such
as you will justify to the government of the United States.

I am under an inevitable necessity of answering the call
which Mr. De Wolf has made on me, but shall ;yet suspend
my answer until I receive yours. I am unwilling to write
him that you chuse to make an application variant from your
orders, of remittances lately made and destined for him. I
am still more unwilling to give him the means of procuring
the supply elsewhere, in a manner that will be burdensome to
the United States ; and, indeed, I cannot recur to other re
sources, without being first convinced that the supplies in
your hands will fail. But the first of December is rapidly
approaching, some provision for the payment of that day
must be made, and as far as the means in my power extend,

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 423

I am bound to use them all, if necessary to ensure a punctual
discharge of interest. . . . l

I am &c.

MY DEAR SIR :

TO JOHN ADAMS

HELVOETSLUYS,2 October 31, 1795.

The service indeed upon which I am now ordered has
nothing to please in prospect. To deal with a British Minis
ter, to deal with him after Mr. Jay, and with the furious
persecution that this gentleman has suffered for this very
transaction, fresh before my eyes and yet rumbling in my
ears, has nothing attractive to ambition or flattering to
hope. On one side the perspective is illiberal and captious
negotiation, and probable failure, or such a success as will
not be much better; on the other is virulent reproach and
abuse to extend as usual to my nearest friends, and lavished
more on them than on me. That both these things will be
combined for my endurance in the course of the business is

1 He left the Hague October 21, reached Rotterdam the same day, and on the
22d went to Helvoetsluys. See Memoirs, October, 1795. "The only remedy against
moral as well as physical evil must very often be patience. At the obstinacy of
the winds, which continued all this day, I have fretted not more than usual. I have,
indeed, taken to myself some little consolation of vanity, from the idea that I have
borne the vexation with philosophy more than common to me; and since I find that
all the anxiety with which my eyes have involuntarily turned with constant itera
tion to all the vanes and weathercocks in sight has been merely gratuitous; that
the kindness of a weathercock would have given me no relief, and that all the stores
of Lapland magic would have been useless in my hands, I have been rather fortified
than weakened in my resignation, and have only pitied those who can prevail upon
themselves to practise impositions without necessity." To Thomas B. Adams,
October 27, 1795. Ms.

'"Put up at Bridge's, an English house, and tolerably good." Ms. Diary.
But see the Memoirs, October 28, 1795.

424 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

highly probable. One or the other of them is inevitable, for
the existence of the first in its utmost extent will be the only
possible protection against the certainty of the second.

These anticipations do not, however, in themselves form
my principal concern. I know that success is seldom at
human disposal, and that censure, if unmerited, is an evil
not intolerable. It is not therefore the responsibility of this
agency that I dread, but it is the magnitude of the trust, and
my own incompetency ; the first being only my personal con
cern, but the last involving the most important interests, and
the welfare of my country.

It is possible that the result of my present mission may
ascertain the termination of my residence in Europe, in
dependent of any act of my own will, or perhaps it will serve
to give a direction to it. Your recommendation to me to
return to America at the close of a three years' absence, un
less removed to a different scene and raised to an higher
trust, will have, as all advice from you will always have, great
weight in my mind. But I must assure you in the most un
equivocal manner that I have not the shadow of a wish for a
more elevated rank than that in which I am now placed, and
that, of the only two American missions in Europe where the
higher character is employed, I consider the English as an
object of aversion and the French of indifference.

As there is no present prospect of vacancy in either of
those places, it will be unnecessary for me to give you the
numerous reasons upon which my sentiments concerning
them are formed. A dislike both of the government and
national character, perhaps amounting even to a prejudice,
is the principal ground of the first, and the unsettled revolu
tionary state of the country is at least a counterbalance to
any predilection I might otherwise entertain in favor of the
other.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 425

Besides these considerations, if I had not collected a suffi
cient portion of the "Stoic spirit" to dull the edge of my am
bition, if the vanity of rank or the parade of representation
had in my eyes such charms as could overpower my philos
ophy, I should at least teach my desires a subordination
to the sentiments of justice, at least command them to com
pare the merits of their claims with those of others and be
silent. If diplomatic promotion in this course of duty be an
advantage or a reward, and the occasion should occur for
bestowing it, the United States, besides all their deserving
citizens at home, have other servants in Europe in the same
station with me, older in years, more versed in public affairs,
entitled by long and faithful service to the notice of public
recompense, and without a delirium of extravagance could I
expect advancement while they remain stationary ? With
out an arrogance of equal injustice and absurdity could I
wish it ?

The situation at The Hague, therefore, insignificant as it
is, satisfies me with an employment which, without being
tedious or painful, is adequate to my talents, and leaves me
leisure to pursue any course of studies that may be recom
mended by its amusement or utility. Indeed, Sir, it is a
situation in itself much preferable to that of eternal expecta
tion in a lawyer's office for business which, when it comes, is
scarcely sufficient to give bread, and procures one more curses
than thanks. I may be reduced once more to the necessity
of going through that trial, but as long as any other honest
resource is left me, the remembrance of that probation will
suffice me, and I shall not be willing to go through it
again. . . .

426 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

TO CHARLES ADAMS

HELVOETSLUYS, November 4, 1795.

The state of this country is in general tolerably quiet and
peaceable, excepting every now and then a little irregular
usurpation of sovereignty by clubs and popular assemblages ;
hitherto they have not been followed by any tragical event.
The dissolution of the confederation, and the consolidation
of all the provinces into a sing'e republic, by the convo
cation of a National Assembly, has been for many months an
object of great solicitude, more especially because a differ
ence of opinion has arisen in the different provinces, upon the
propriety of the proposed alteration. The province of Hol
land almost unanimously, and the popular societies and
clubs in all the others, have pursued very tenaciously the
point upon which they think the permanency of their revo
lution will turn ; but the majority of the people in most of
the smaller provinces, are strenuously averse to the change,
and adhere tenaciously to their federal system. The parties
have at length proceeded so far, that the provincial assembly
of Holland has taken a formal resolution, that in case the
other provinces do not unanimously agree to call the Na
tional Assembly by the 25th of this month, this province
will take the step alone, or together with those that will
agree to join it, without waiting any longer for the assent
of the remaining members.

I have been amused but not surprized, to observe with
what zeal the most ardent patriots here connect in argu
ment, provincial sovereignty and aristocracy, after having seen
so many patriots no less ardent in America, labouring with
the same industry, to make the essence of Republicanism
consist in State Sovereignty. I knew before this that the

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 427

arguments of a party are generally urged more for their
operation than for their weight. . . .

(Private.)
SIR :

TO TIMOTHY PICKERING1

LONDON, November 15, 1795.

I have to thank you for your favor of September 10,
which Mr. Deas delivered to me on my arrival here. The
letter of Mr. Randolph, dated July 2i,2 had indeed been to
me a subject of equal pain and surprise. Combined with
the numerous accounts of irregular popular proceedings in
different parts of the United States, and with a prejudice
discoverable in the minds of almost all the Americans I met
who had recently come from the United States, it induced
an unpleasant anticipation of the consequences that awaited
the United States from the designs of some, and the un
guarded hastiness of others, among their citizens.

It gives me pleasure to observe from your letter, that the
proceedings of the popular meetings on the subject of the

1 Adams landed at Margate November 10, and reached London the next day,
only to find that the exchange of ratifications of the treaty had been performed by
William Allen Deas. It remained for him to await further instructions from the
State Department upon the twelfth article of the treaty and upon certain points not
dealt with in that document. These instructions, sketched by Randolph, were
suppressed by Pickering, his successor in office, as having been formed "under the
impression of ideas quite foreign to an immediate ratification of that treaty."
The subject was not resumed until too late for Adams to be the agent.

2 Printed in American State Papfrs, Foreign Relations, I. 719. "The complexion
of his whole letter shows that these popular meetings were not displeasing to him;
and combined with various facts, which I cannot now detail, indicating studied
delays, to give him for extending the opposition, satisfies me that his true-object
was to defeat the treaty altogether." Pickering to Adams, September 10, 1795.
Ms.

428 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

treaty are in every respect less important, than from many
circumstances I had been apprehensive. That the hasty
rashness of the meetings was the result of a concerted plan,
and that every artifice had been employed to take the people
by surprise, and to use them as instruments for a purpose,
the success of which would eventually prove their irreparable
misfortune, I can readily believe, as I had long suspected
that such would be the case before it happened ; but that
the Secretary of State should be accessary to such a ma
noeuvre is what I could not have believed from any opinion
less respectable than yours, and of which I would still fain
hope he was innocent.

The occasion of his resignation you have mentioned,
however, as originating in a different source. But notwith
standing the force of your expression, that he had forfeited
the confidence of the President, the story which is not much
of a secret here must be loaded with great exaggerations, if
not with absolute falsehood.

The intelligence of the pacifications with the Indian tribes
and of the general prosperity enjoyed throughout the United
States, while it accounts in some measure for the violence
and the arts used to defeat the system to which the peace
and prosperity can alone be attributed, is, I would hope, a
sure token that all the endeavors to delude the people into a
sacrifice of their own welfare will prove as unsuccessful as
they have hitherto been.

The system of policy pursued by the President since the
commencement of the present European war has been en
countered by so many difficulties and embarrassments,
which the wisdom of his government has removed and over
come, that I feel encouraged in the hope that it will be
successfully pursued to the end. The war in all probability
approaches towards its termination. Another campaign is

i79sl JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 429

barely possible. More than one I cannot under the present
state of affairs anticipate, and the scale of probability as it
appears to me inclines towards a general peace, or at
least a cessation of hostilities before the close of the year
ensuing. . . .

The situation of this country one would imagine not much
less critical than that of France and of the United Provinces.
The scarcity of grain and flour is so considerable that it has
been among the first subjects of deliberation to the Parlia
ment now assembled, to take measures for preventing an
absolute famine. Riots have recently taken place in differ
ent parts of the Kingdom owing to the price of provisions,
of bread especially, and those who have been so anxiously
desirous of trying the experiment of a famine abroad may
perhaps witness its effects without going from home.

This circumstance has naturally given a vigor to the dis
contented party, and has much increased the fermentation
that was before operating in silence among the lower ranks
of people particularly in the capital. Numerous popular
meetings have been held, and their orators have declaimed
in that kind of style which produces the effect against which
the laws were intended to guard, without infringing the laws
themselves. On the first day of the present session of Parlia
ment the King was personally insulted, the glass of his coach
was broken by a stone, and it is the fashion here to say, that
his life was aimed at.

This was probably not the case. In the present state of
things the life of the king can be no object to the party hos
tile to the government. An assassination would do them
great injury, and could be of no possible advantage. But to
prove that he may be insulted with impunity is, doubtless,
a point of consequence to those who found their hopes of a
Revolution on the degradation of the royal character.

430 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Whatever the fact or the intention really was, it has been
the occasion of two bills introduced by the Ministers now
pending, one in the House of Lords, and the other in the
House of Commons. Their professed objects are the security
of the King's person and the prevention of seditious meetings
and assemblies ; but their operation must be to abridge very
materially the right of political discussion, and the public
voice in the capital is strongly decided against them. In
my next letter I shall give a further account of the proceed
ings on this subject, which becomes interesting from the un
common degree of the public attention it has excited, and
in the interval remain, with perfect respect, Sir, etc.1

TO JOHN ADAMS

LONDON, November 17, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR :

After a detention of twenty days at Helvoetsluys, and a
pleasant passage of twenty-four hours from thence to Mar
gate, I arrived here on the morning of the nth instant. The
state of the business on which I came will be known to you
before the receipt of this letter.

An English paper that I saw at Rotterdam on the day of
my departure from the Hague gave me the first information
of Mr. Randolph's resignation. On my arrival here I found
a story of its supposed occasion, for which I fear there is too
much foundation, though I think it must have received high
aggravations from those who make little scruple of divulg
ing it. At present I can only suspend my judgment upon
the degree of misconduct chargeable on him, and still hope
that he was never influenced by motives more criminal than
those of a misguided party spirit. I shall reserve for a

1 See Adams, Memoirs, December I, 1795; Annual Register, 1796, 17.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 431

future letter some observations relative to the means of in
fluence used by a foreign power in the United States, and
confine myself in this to such observations as have occurred
to me on the state of affairs in those parts of Europe the most
interesting to our country.

The new French legislature assumed its functions on the
27th of last month.1 No account of any very important
transaction by them has yet reached this country. The
members of the Executive directory are Larevelliere-Le-
peaux,2 Letourneur,3 Rewbell,4 Barras 5 and Carnot.6 The
last was chosen to replace Sieyes, who was in the first ap
pointment by a small majority and declined.

Carnot was a member of Robespierre's Committee of
Public Safety, and I think the only one remaining alive who
has not been under arrest by order of the Convention, a fate
which he very narrowly escaped not more than four months
ago. He was then spared as was said on account of his
military merit, as the design of the campaign which ter
minated in the conquest of the Netherlands is attributed to
him.

1 The elections in France under the new constitution had been held October 20.
As two-thirds of the new Corps Legislatif were to be taken from the members of the
old Convention, four hundred and ninety-three members should have been thus
elected. In fact, only three hundred and eighty-nine were returned, leaving one
hundred and four to be chosen by the elected members from the Convention, who
selected sympathizers with their own policy. This expedient retained in power
a majority of the old Convention, and resulted in less than two years in the
overthrow of the Republic. The five Directors were chosen from this party,
and the council of the Ancients from the members of the Corps Legislatif. For
the characters and powers of the Directory, see Cambridge Modern History,
VIII. 490.

2 Louis-Marie de la Revellicrc-Lepaux (1753-1824).

3 Charlcs-Louis-Francois-Honore Letourneur (1751-1817).

4 Jean-Francois Rewbell (1747-1807).

5 Paul-Francois-Jean-Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (1755-1829).
8 Lazare-Nicolas-Marguerite Carnot (1753-1823).

432 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

The fluctuation of fortunes and reputations is equally
remarkable in the choice of the other members, and even in
the consideration of persons who were not chosen.

Boissy d'Anglas,1 Cambaceres,2 Lanjuinais,3 Henry Lari-
viere,4 the demi-gods of the month of June, are out of the
question. The reason is that they were not forward in support
of the decree of reelection which produced the late convulsion,
and the most recent services are the only ones remembered.

If the tone of the Directory can be anticipated by any
consideration of the character of its members, it will not be
remarkable for stability or harmony. The only man whose
personal character can give him any pretensions to power,
the only one whose conduct has a system for its basis, Sieves,
refused the seat that was offered him. It was a place he said
which required that its holder should possess the general
confidence, and no man could be more unfit for it than him,
against whom all parties without exception since the be
ginning of the Revolution had pointed as a mark.

Did Sieyes imagine that any other man in France pos
sessed the general confidence, or ever could possess it more
than three months together ? No, for independent of his
experience it is not understanding or sagacity that are his
deficiencies. Could he be serious when he represented him
self as having been the special mark of all the successive
factions ? — he ? — Sieyes ? — the only man of note whom
every successive faction has spared. The only man extant,
who from the day when the first Constituent Assembly met
to the present, has been openly or unseen concerned in the
most important affairs. The man whose mere existence at

1 Francois-Antoine Boissy d'Anglas (1756-1826).

2 Jean-Joseph-Regis Cambaceres (1753-1824).

3 Jean-Denis Lanjuinais (1753-1827).

4 Pierre-Franfois-Joachim-Henri de Lariviere (1761-1838).

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 433

this day is a standing miracle, and amounts to proof that
there are no universalities in nature, and that everything
has an exception ? No, no. He certainly knew better.

But he was determined to refuse, and some reason he must
give. This was a very good one to profess, it contained an
eulogium of himself without offending others. It had a
natural tendency to increase his influence with those who
believed his assertion, if any such there were ; and as to those
who did not believe him, it may be supposed they were very
indifferent whether he spoke the truth or not.

From my arresting your attention so long and repeatedly
upon the motions of this one man, I hope you will not think
I give him an importance that he does not deserve. To
speak my mind freely, I consider him as the main spring of
the French external policy.1 I believe, further, that his policy
as respects the United States is of a tendency as pernicious
to them, as if it had been invented in the councils of the
Prince of Darkness.

In the present instance he avoids a station of show as he
has always uniformly done; he remains in the Council of
five hundred, and will be satisfied with having the great por
tion of executive management really in his hands. He is so
much of a metaphysician that he values the substance more
than the appearance of power, and he secures to himself the
advantage of protection from the most imminent hazards
that may attend new Revolutions.

The new Legislature did not assemble under the fairest
auspices that could be wished. A civil war in the heart of
Paris but a few days before stifled in blood,2 a paper currency

1 The Directors appointed, November 3, Charles Delacroix Minister of Foreign
Affairs; but Rewbell exercised an important influence in that Department.

2 See Monroe's despatches of October 20, and November 18, 1795, in Writings of
James Monroe, II. 379, 415-

2 F

434 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

depreciated to the lowest extreme of sufferance, an expense
of more than an hundred daily millions to support, and de
feat, a word of which they had almost lost the use, attending
their armies. Internal discord can scarcely be mentioned
as one of their distresses, because it has become their ordinary
state, and its evils have lost their horror in their frequency ;
but dissension with their new allies may be added to the list
of the embarrassments under which they have yet the courage
to retain a compulsive hold of the public helm.

I remain &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
[TIMOTHY PICKERING, ACTING]

LONDON, December 5, 1795.

I saw yesterday Lord Grenville at his office, and had a
lengthy conversation with him upon subjects connected with
the object of my mission here, and upon those concerning
which your instructions had previously been executed by
Mr. Deas.

I found Sir William Scott,1 the Advocate General, with
him. The point first discussed was that concerning the cases
proposed to be settled by compromise. This matter being,
however, still unsettled I shall reserve for a separate letter
an account of whatever relates to it.

The Advocate General having withdrawn, the compen
sation to the Commissioners was mentioned, and I told his
Lordship that upon further reflection I had been confirmed
in the opinion that my authority from the American govern-

1 Afterwards Lord Stowell (1745-1836).

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 435

ment would not permit me to make any discrimination in
the pay of the several members of the same Commission.
That wishing, however, to be candid with him, I should
acknowledge that my instructions allowed me to agree to the
sum of £150x3 to the Commissioners for the debts and for
the spoliations, and £1000 for those who are to determine the
river St. Croix ; and that rather than incur the delay neces
sary for taking the opinion of the American government, I
should consent to those sums, though, at the same time, I
must repeat that smaller sums would be preferred by them.
He said that the principal object with him for thinking £1500
necessary was, that he might propose it to the persons whom
he had in his mind to send to America, and who would not
go for less. That if I pleased, therefore, the agreement
might be as he had before proposed to me, reserving to the
American government the right to change it, if they thought
proper, so far as to make the pay for all the same. I said
once more that I had no authority to admit for a moment the
idea of discrimination, but that as the reason he had men
tioned for making it appeared weighty to my own mind, if
he pleased the agreement should be such that the largest
sums mentioned should be allowed to all the Commissioners
alike, reserving to the American government the right to
reduce, if they think proper, to £1000 the pay of those Com
missioners who shall be in both instances not obliged to
go beyond sea for the performance of their service. To
this he agreed, requesting me until the determination of the
American government be known not to mention the cir
cumstance here, because he did not wish the future Com
missioners here should be led to expect so much as £1500. I
told him I should certainly be silent on the subject, and
mentioned the propriety of having something written upon
the agreement. He said he would in the course of a few

436 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

days write me a note mentioning the agreement as it has been
made in our conversation.

I then observed there was a subject concerning which I
had no instructions, nor indeed any communications, from
the Government of the United States, but concerning which
I had reason to believe the sensations in America were so
strong that I felt myself bound in duty to suggest them, as
indeed I had been required to do by the agent of American
claims,1 who had received the sentiments of our govern
ment on the subject. That I understood there were several
cases now pending before the Lords Commissioners of Ap
peals which involved in their decision certain points of na
tional concern, upon which I should be happy to have some
conversation with him, and that a decision had taken place
during the course of the last summer which I believed, when
made known in America, had occasioned disappointment
and chagrin: that the ground upon which I had understood
the condemnation had taken place, was the transient resi
dence of one of the parties in the island of Guadeloupe; that
there were indeed other incidental points, which I had been,
however, informed had been given up or not insisted on upon
the appeal, but that on the facts of the case as they were
known to the American government, there was no legal prin
ciple upon which they conceived that property liable to con
demnation ; that upon the occasion of the trial of that case,
one point had arisen, upon which, if I was rightly informed,
one of the Lords Commissioners had observed that some
understanding between the two countries might be advis
able, and that my own wish to prevent the irritation that
must be occasioned by decisions so unfavorable to the inter-

1 Samuel Bayard (1767-1840) was, on the suggestion of Jay, sent to England
in 1794 to represent the claims of American citizens before the prize courts in that
country. His reports are in the Department of State.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 437

ests, and so adverse to the opinions of my country, induced
me to desire every possible occasion to discuss the points
upon which a difference of opinion between the two nations
might subsist. He said that he would cheerfully enter upon
any such discussion ; that the government of this country
never interfered in judicial proceedings to influence the de
cisions ; but that there might be agreements upon such or
such principle of the laws of nations, which agreements
would be considered as rules to guide the decrees.

Several of these points upon which interesting questions
now depend were mentioned, but not much dwelt upon. I
thought it sufficient at this time to introduce the subject,
which may be a very extensive one, and which is totally dis
connected with any instructions that I have hitherto re
ceived.

I then came to points upon which I had been honored
with your orders and said that the instructions of the Ameri
can government relative to the further matters which I
should submit to his consideration, having been executed
already by Mr. Deas, it was perhaps less necessary for me to
enter largely upon the business than it might otherwise
have been ; but that as these concerns had now devolved
upon me, I thought it essential to the discharge of my duty
to notice what had been specially recommended to my at
tention. That the President of the United States had been
informed of numerous captures having been made, during
the course of the last summer, of American vessels laden
with provisions, in consequence of an order said to have been
issued under his Majesty's authority, and I was directed to
inquire into the existence of such an order. He said that he
would direct Mr. Hammond in the course of a very few days
to send me a copy of that order ; that a copy of it had been
sent, to be communicated to the American government in

438 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

America with suitable explanations, but that the manner
in which Mr. Deas had thought proper to execute his in
structions was such that he (Lord Grenville) chose to have
no communication with him on the subject. He then added
that the treaty admitted by implication that there are cases
in which provisions and other articles not generally contra
band may become so, and stipulated that until the two coun
tries should agree on this subject their respective conduct
towards each other shall be regulated by the existing law of
nations ; that he believed there was not a single writer upon
the law of nations who did not lay down the principle that
provisions may become contraband, and that the known
passage of Vattel, a modern and judicious writer, who upon
the subject of national law had taken the indulgent side, and
might be considered as a protestant of political doctrines,
expressly stated that provisions may be liable to capture
with indemnity, when the distress of the enemy is such for
want of them that it becomes a mean of reducing them, or
of procuring an advantageous peace ; that, besides, it is
equally clear that vessels may be detained upon suspicion
of their having on board property belonging to the enemy of
the captor, by the treaty and by the existing law of nations.
Now, the order only directs a capture when both the circum
stances concur; that is, when the vessels are laden with
provisions, and when there is any suspicion of enemy's prop
erty. It does not, therefore, go to the extent that it might
without any violation of right.1

"With respect to the treaty (said I) my instructions ex
pressly command me to say that its ratification must not be
construed into an admission of the legality of this order. As
to the principle stated by your Lordship as being laid down
by Vattel, it could not be applicable in the present case, even

*On provisions as contraband, see Moore, Digest of International Law, VII. 675.

i79sl JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 439

if admitted, unless there were also an admission of fact.
That is, that his Majesty's enemies were so distressed for
want of provisions, that they were susceptible of being re
duced by the capture of neutral vessels carrying provisions
to them. This point I do not wish to discuss with you. As
to the suspicion of having enemy's property on board, even
supposing that could justify detention, it could justify noth
ing more, and in this case there is much more. There is
taking property from its owners against their will, and
giving them a supposed indemnity equally without their
will." "But," said he, "it is customary in the Courts of
Admiralty, whenever articles perishable in their nature must
be endangered by the detention necessary until the deter
mination of the cause for which they were taken, to sell the
articles under a decree of the Court, and pay the proceeds
to the party." "Even that," said I, "differs essentially
from taking a man's property, and paying him according to
your own estimation. A sale is attended with competition,
and, where an article is in demand, will produce a price."
"I believe," said he, "it is very well understood that the
payments for the provisions that have been brought in were
more advantageous to the merchants than a sale would have
been." I thought it unnecessary to urge this point any
further. The answer to the last observation is very obvious,
but it had run wide from the position of a right to detain
on suspicion, or any consequences deducible from it.

As the principle of this order (I resumed) is not admitted
by the American government, considerations of its peculiar
inconvenience to the United States and their citizens form but
a secondary ground of objection. Provisions are among the
most valuable articles of our export trade. They are indeed
more valuable, proportionally speaking, to us than to any
other commercial nation ; a restraint therefore upon the free-

440 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

dom of this trade by external power has a more extensive
operation upon our interests than upon those of any others,
and it has the appearance of being specially pointed against
us. For however general the expressions in which the order
is couched may be, as comprehending all neutral nations, yet
if, in the nature of things it can operate only against one, it
must be understood to have had an application only to that
nation. Besides this, if my information be accurate, the
same rate of indemnity has in the cases of the late captures
been allowed to the neutral proprietors of all the several
nations. Now the same per centum upon a cargo coming
from Hamburg might afford a very handsome profit, and
coming from Philadelphia would give scarce any at all ; as
in estimating the rate of profits upon any given capital, the
time during which it is employed forms an essential ingre
dient. A vessel from Hamburg to France might perform ten
or a dozen voyages to and fro in the course of a year. From
America the average could not amount to more than two.
The same rule, therefore, produces very different effects
upon circumstances which nature has made so different.
These observations are made not as admitting that any
indemnity whatever could obtain our assent to the legality
of captures, but in order to show the character of the order
itself, by the partial and unequal effects that it necessarily
produces.

He said that it would be shown by the accounts of the
sums paid or to be paid by this government for these pro
visions, that the American vessels brought in amounted to
quite a small proportion of the whole ; that the order had in
fact operated much more upon the nations up the Baltic
than upon the United States, and that it was really intended
that it should ; that he would direct that the amount of the
accounts should be shown me ; and as to the rates of in-

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 441

demnity, he appeared in some measures to admit the reason
of the observation I had made, but said that it was qualified
by the circumstance of the great difference in the freights.
The next particular of your instructions to which I ad
verted, was the stipulation in the second article of the treaty,
for the delivery of the posts, and the previous measures
provided to be taken to effect the evacuation. I told him I
was ordered to urge for the immediate performance of that
engagement. He said that the orders had been made for
the purpose, and he believed they had been sent out. "But,"
said he, "it cannot be surprising if, upon seeing in what
manner the treaty has been received in America, and the
opposition which it has met and still meets there, we should
think it necessary to be upon our guard. If, upon the meet
ing of Congress, a difficulty should be raised and prevail
against passing the laws which may be necessary to give
effect to certain articles of the treaty, it cannot be expected
that we should be willing to perform on our side without
performance on the other." I then replied that I could not
undertake to say before hand what the Congress of the
United States in any instance would think proper to do.
But I had not the smallest doubt and I believed this govern
ment had no reason to doubt, but that the United States
would faithfully perform all their engagements. That with
respect to the opposition advanced against the treaty, its
appearance I had reason to believe from good authority,
was more formidable than its reality ; that it was the nature
of opposition to any public measure in that country to be
bold, open, public, industrious, and active; that it was even
more so there than elsewhere, and arose from the principle
of liberty, upon which the government was founded ; that,
upon an occasion of such universal interest as that treaty,
opposition was very natural, and its ordinary character

442 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

might derive from the importance of the subject an unusual
degree of apparent energy, and it would show itself in its
utmost extent, which was further magnified by a view of it
at this distance. He said he could readily believe it, and that
the force of the observation upon the character of opposi
tion would be understood and acknowledged with peculiar
conviction by Englishmen.

I then added, "I am thoroughly convinced that the en
gagements of the American government will be punctually
discharged, and I hope most sincerely that if on either side
of the water there are persons really desirous to revive the
causes of former differences, or to generate occasions for
new ones, persons who wish to accumulate irritations, which
the interest of both nations would entirely remove, and to
instigate a failure on their own side as a provocation to the
other, their views may be entirely frustrated." He then
repeated that " he believed the orders for the evacuation of
the posts had been sent out."

After saying thus much upon the matters relating to the
treaty, I observed that there were two new aggressions, on
the part of officers in his Majesty's service, which it was my
duty to recall to his lordship's recollection. A memorial
on the subject had been presented by Mr. Deas, and he
had sent the documents by which the facts were substan
tiated. It remained only for me to repeat the demand of
reparation for what was considered by the American govern
ment as an outrageous violation of their territorial juris
diction, and as being highly aggravated by an attack upon
a foreign minister entitled to all the protection which the
laws of nations could give to such a character. That the
instance was indeed of such a complexion that the President
had thought proper to revoke the exequatur of Mr. Moore,
his Majesty's Vice Consul at Rhode Island, who appeared

1795) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 443

to have cooperated in the offense to such a degree as made
it proper for the American government to do itself justice
as far as concerned him.1

He said that immediately upon receiving information of
the charge against Captain Home, an order had been issued
by the Lords of Admiralty to him for the purpose of hearing
what he should have to say in his justification ; that he could
assure me no officer in his Majesty's service would ever be
countenanced in such acts as the violation of a friendly
nation's territorial rights, aggravated by an injury to the
privileged character of a foreign minister. He mentioned
this the rather, because, although no representations on the
affair had yet been received from Captain Home himself,
he had reason to suppose, from other statements which he
had seen, that the violation of territory would be denied by
the captain, who would maintain that the transaction took
place at such a distance from the American coast as took it
altogether out of the territorial jurisdiction of the United
States. I told him that the determination of this govern
ment, or the evidence upon which they might found it, was
not a subject for my consideration. I should only remark,
from a personal knowledge of the place where the event
occurred, and of the points from and to which the packet
was going, that the pretence that the fact happened upon the
high seas out of our jurisdiction, if raised, would, in my
opinion, be disproved by the simple local relation of the
places.

"With respect to the case of Mr. Moore (said Lord Gren-
villc) that is a little different. An express stipulation of
the treaty gives each of the two governments the right of
dismissing the consuls of the other for such reasons as itself

1 This refers to the search of the Peggy by boats from the British ship of war
Africa, for the departing French minister Fauchet and his papers.

444 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

thinks proper. Whether the reason be good or bad, it is
the mere exercise of a right reserved, upon which the other
government has nothing to say. So that the President, if
he pleased, might dismiss a man because he took a dislike to his
face, and we should have no right to object against it. I
have, therefore, taken his Majesty's pleasure for appoint
ing a person in the place of Mr. Moore, and it is a matter
upon which no question can arise. But if, to go any further,
my opinion is asked in this case, I can have no hesitation in
saying that I think Mr. Moore has been a little hastily dealt
with. That the mere circumstance of his sending a letter
from Captain Home to the Governor of Rhode Island 1 did
not merit such pointed severity. For, however offensive
the letter might be, he sent it at the express requisition of
Captain Home, which he could not refuse, Captain Home
being in his Majesty's service an officer so vastly superior in
rank to himself." "My orders were," said I, "to explain
the reasons upon which this act of the President was
grounded, and to observe that it was not only because Mr.
Moore sent the insulting letter to the Governor of Rhode
Island, but because his presence on board the Africa, at the
time when the other outrage was committed, gave strong
ground for suspicion that he was accessary to that. These
reasons were deemed sufficient by the President. He trusts
they will be so by this government ; and you may be assured
that no trivial cause, nor any such reason as the President's
taking a dislike to a man's face, would induce him to the
removal of any one." "No, no, (said he) I was not speak
ing officially, and only meant, in giving you my opinion, to
put an extreme case to show my idea of the principle."

Respecting the other case, the same orders have been
issued from the Admiralty, to the captain of the Hermione,

1 Arthur Fenner (1745-1805).

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 445

in order to know what he can say for his justification. "I
am directed on this occasion," said I, "to urge that more
pointed orders may be given, to prevent the repetition of
this evil. It is a great evil, and is continually recurring.
I may add that it is of a nature extremely calculated to
produce irritation and resentment. It couples insult with
injury in a manner which naturally makes not only the suf
ferers, but numbers of their fellow citizens, think it intol
erable. The government of the United States, for these
reasons, wish that some equitable agreement on the subject
may put an end to complaints to which they cannot be in
attentive."

He said they were very willing to make such an agreement
as might result from a fair and candid discussion of the sub
ject. That he had already had, when Mr. Jay was here,
much conversation with him upon it, and that it was then
understood to be one of the points reserved for future con
sideration. The question involved in it was on both sides
difficult. For instance, if a sailor belonging to one of the
king's ships stationed on the American coast, should desert
and run away from his ship, it could not be supposed that he
thereby changed his allegiance or acquired a right to the
protection of the United States as an American citizen. On
the other hand, all those who, before the war, were inhabit
ants of America, and had continued to be so, wherever
born, were doubtless to be considered as American citizens
and entitled to protection. That between these two ex
treme points there was a great variety of gradations, and it
must be a delicate thing on both sides to fix the line of de
marcation ; that in the particular instance of the settlers,
etc., within the posts to be evacuated, the treaty had as
certained the proceedings whereby every individual might
make and declare his election, and he should cheerfully

446 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

attend to any observations that might occur to me on the
view of the subject as a general question.

Before I proceed to a few remarks which I shall take the
liberty to submit, suggested by this conversation, I have to
notice a proposal of Lord Grenville's respecting the two
important Commissions, and which escaped my recollec
tion, when I gave in the beginning of this letter an account
of the agreement as to the pay of the Commissioners. He
said that the treaty stipulated nothing as to the appointment
of the secretaries to these Commissions. He supposed it
would not be thought necessary to have more than one
secretary for each of them, and it would be perhaps eligible
that the person should not be obliged to go beyond sea.
His offer therefore was that the Secretary of the Commission
to sit at Philadelphia [be appointed] by the American govern
ment, at the same time reserving to the Commissioners in
both instances the right of objecting to the appointment of
any person who might be not agreeable to them. I answered
that having no communication from the government of the
United States on this head, I could not say what their opin
ions would be ; whether this arrangement would meet their
ideas or whether they would prefer having the secretaries
appointed as of course by the Commissioners themselves,
but that I would transmit the suggestion he now made for
their consideration.

In the relation that is now before you, Sir, it has been
endeavored to give you the substance of everything that
was said on either side, and a verbal accuracy has been pre
served as far as it could be retained in memory.

The proposal for discriminating between the Commis
sioners in the article of compensation left me only the al
ternative of consenting to the highest sums or creating a
further delay of four or five months. It was doubtless made

I795J JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 447

with that intention, and affords a specimen of the style of
negotiation which it may be expected will be pursued. That
delay, at least as to the performance of their engagements,
is a real object which this government have in view, may be
collected from various concurring circumstances. As to
the evacuation of the posts, it will be observed that the
intention of making that depend upon what shall be done
be Congress at their meeting respecting the treaty was
clearly avowed, and although a belief was professed that the
orders were already sent out, yet it is evident from the whole
that was said on that head, taken together, either that no
such orders have been sent, or that they are made condi
tional, to be executed or not according to circumstances.
This belief of the principal Secretary of State, upon such a
point as the present, is itself a ground of suspicion that his
creed is not in this respect entirely conformable to his knowl
edge. Mr. Deas was at first expressly told that the orders
were sent out. I was told the same thing by Mr. Hammond
the first time of my seeing him here ; and now my Lord
Grenville only believes them gone.

The attempt at argument in support of the order for tak
ing vessels laden with provisions will be appreciated by the
President at its proper value. It was such as made it un
necessary to contest the principles ; a mere denial of their
application sufficed. The indifference and readiness with
which such reasons are advanced may serve to show the
degree of stress which is laid upon the reason of their conduct,
and what proportion it bears to their conviction that it
must in truth rest upon their sense of power. This order has
been revoked, and will not be revived so long as the costs
of their captures will evidently amount higher than their
value to the captors. This circumstance supplied the prin
cipal or only motive for its removal ; and when it shall no

448 THE WRITINGS OF [i795

longer exist, the expectation that any consideration of jus
tice, humanity, or neutral rights will prevent its revival for
so much as an hour, would be as little warranted by present
probability as by past experience.

In the case of Captain Home's violence and outrage, it
seems that a pretence for bearing him out is assumed al
ready, before any species of defence has been received from
himself ; and as to that of Mr. Moore, the words underscored
in the above relation were expressly used. The disposition
of mind which they discover shall remain without comment
from me, and I shall only permit myself to add, that by
repeating distinctly some of those words, it was meant to
show that they had not passed unnoticed, and that by saying
no further, sensations were suppressed which, if indulged,
would have retorted scorn for scorn.

That Mr. Moore had thought himself bound in duty to
send to the Governor of Rhode Island copy of a letter
he had received, insolent and insulting to the Governor,
because the writer of the letter had requested him so to do, had
indeed been advanced by Mr. Moore himself ; but the reason
assigned by Lord Grenville, as proving that such was his
duty, belongs entirely to him. It is that Captain Home was
superior in rank to the Vice Consul : a reason to justify
vicarious insolence, which, however, consonant to the prac
tice of this country, will be considered as more than disput
able in the United States.

In this conversation it will perhaps appear that the ob
jection against Mr. Deas for the manner in which he has
expressed the sentiments of the American government did
not come with much weight from a person using such lan
guage on his side. Mr. Deas is doubtless equal to his own
justification, and if the language of his memorial was warm,
it was such as the occasion naturally suggested.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 449

With respect to the pressing of seamen, it will be observed
in the newspapers that notice issued yesterday from the
Admiralty office, that directions have been given not to press
any more men regularly protected. Whether these direc
tions will meet with proper execution, time alone will
unfold.

I am in hopes of Mr. Pinckney's return within a few days ;
by Christmas at latest. I expect it with anxiety, being
ardently desirous to resign into his hands a task to which I
must take the liberty of observing that I am altogether in
adequate ; and a trust the extensive importance of which
could not be fully perceived at the time when my orders to
repair hither were transmitted. From the foregoing account
an opinion may be formed how far the relative situation of
the United States and this country is still critical ; and it
would not become me to suggest what measures the interests
and the security of the former may render advisable. That
the disposition here is candid, harmonious, or sincere may be
believed, if the amplest professions are to be admitted for
substantial proof.

I have the honor &c.

TO LORD GRENVILLE

LONDON, December 9, 1795.
MY LORD :

I have received the card which your Lordship did me the
honor to write me yesterday; but observing that it is di
rected to me as Minister Plenipotentiary from the United
States of America, I think it necessary to inform your Lord
ship, that I am not honored with that character, and that
the credential letter, which I have the honor to bear from the
President of the United States to his Majesty, styles me

2 G

450 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Minister Resident of the United States of America, at the
Hague.

If this circumstance, according to the customary usages
of this court, be such as to preclude me from the honor of an
audience to deliver my credential letter to his Majesty, I
must request of your Lordship that it may be notified to
me, as I cannot by any acquiescence or assent on my part
admit that I am vested with the character of a Minister
Plenipotentiary.1

I have the honor &c.

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
[TIMOTHY PICKERING]

LONDON, December 15, 1795.

SIR:

I now resume the subject of the intention that the Minis
try perhaps entertained of considering me as a Minister to
this court. And several circumstances that occurred both
before and after the levee convinced me that such an in
tention still existed.2 The next day a paragraph appeared
in one of the ministerial papers, stating that Mr. Adams, the
new envoy from the United States of America, had delivered
his credentials, etc.

I had reason to expect that a similar paragraph would
appear in the next Gazette, and though I could not be re-

1 See Adams, Memoirs, December 9, 1795. "When I first saw Mr. Adams (un
derstanding that he was empowered to negotiate with this country during Mr.
Pinckney's absence) I offered him any assistance which I could give; but, to my
great surprise, he told me that he was here merely as a private individual. A day
or two afterwards, Lord Grenville gave me very different information." Gouverneur
Morris to Washington, December 19, 1795.

2 See Adams, Memoirs, December n, 1795.

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 451

sponsible for their acts or pretensions, I did not mean they
should ever have a pretence to make a point of the thing on
the ground of a misapprehension. I went therefore to Mr.
Hammond, and clearly stated to him, that I am not to be
considered as a Minister of the United States to this court,
observing that from the first moment of my arrival to the
present I had expressed myself in the most explicit manner
on this point, both to Lord Grenville and to himself. The
paragraph has, of course, not yet appeared in the Gazette.
It had, however, already been sent for insertion, stating
that I had delivered credentials as Minister Resident of
the United States. Mr. Hammond, on my conversing with
him, endeavored to frame the paragraph in a different man
ner so as to meet my ideas ; but I did not think proper to
take on me any responsibility whatever by approbation of
a thing over which I have no control. I told him that I was
answerable for my conduct as it concerns my own country;
but could not be so for any insertion in the Gazettes made by
authority of this government.

In consequence of this discussion, Mr. Hammond found it
necessary, or thought proper at length, to say that, "to be
sure my credential letter was completely informal" To this
I made no answer, but his idea of its informality I take to
arise from their maxim that the King of Great Britain will
not admit a foreigner in the character of a Minister to another
government than his own. To the accuracy of this principle,
I must confess, I see no reasonable objection, and on that
account I had not on my arrival any idea of a formal audi
ence. When it was intimated to me by Lord Grenville that
this would be necessary in point of form, I acquiesced, be
cause I conceived that on the article of forms here it was not
my business to contend with them, and if they chose to over
leap or evade the principle above mentioned, it was at their

452 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

own peril, and not a concern of mine. The principle that
if a Prince does admit a foreign Minister, it can only be in the
character attributed to him in his credentials, was a full
security to us, as I concluded, against any inference of sub
stance that they might wish to draw from a mere ceremonial
parade.

It has, therefore, now become certain that, by their custom
ary forms, my audience was not only unnecessary but in
admissible. Mr. Hammond suggested to me that the ob
jection had not been made because it had escaped their
notice, and observed that in the multiplicity of their business
it was impossible they should attend to everything. The
observation may be true ; but can the oversight be credited
after my notice given to Lord Grenville that I had no com
mission to this court, and after the very explicit declaration
contained in my letter to him, the copy of which is inclosed.

It seems much more probable that it was an express design
of Mr. Hammond himself by means of this audience to con
strue me into a Minister to this court. And this design ap
pears to have been so important in his mind, that to effect
its execution he did not hesitate to return me in Lord Gren-
ville's name such an answer as that, the copy of which is in
closed.

Negotiation in the system of these people seems to con
sist only in the art of reducing to a dilemma. One instance
has been given in a former letter. In the present case, I
was placed, not unskilfully, in that of declining a custom
ary form. I chose to deliver my letter, taking care to
show them distinctly that I meant to keep the form separate
from any false inference they might choose to draw from it.

But although I have endeavored with all the caution of
which I was capable to avoid a snare, if it was laid, I am not
yet without concern lest some use may be designed to be

I795J JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 453

made of my conduct, of which I am not aware. Time alone
can discover what Mr. Hammond's motive could be for such
a manoeuvre as this. That he had a motive, and a strong
one, cannot well be doubted, for such a practice could not be
recommended by the mere pleasure of employing it.

After reflecting in the most serious manner upon it, I can
only conjecture that the object is to procure a certain pre
text upon a future occasion. I trust, however, that if it
should be attempted to be raised, it will be found necessary
to abandon it ; and, indeed, had not my opinion been such, I
should have peremptorily refused to deliver my credential
letter, even at the risk of what was brought so pointedly
before me. Whether my conjecture be well founded or not,
a short time will, I hope, ascertain, and the result will of
course be made known to you.

I have the honor &c.

TO SYLVANUS BOURNE

LONDON, December 16, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR :

The President has not resigned, but there appears to be a
most violent attack carried on against him, the object of
which is probably to induce his resignation, or his removal
at the next election. In this country the same people who
derived so much pleasure from the Western Insurrection of
the last year, take an equal satisfaction in this circumstance.
They seem to anticipate with delight the fall of a man, who
has hitherto been the boast of Republicans. Time will
show, whether in this instance, as in the former, these exult-
ers have not purchased the skin before the chase was killed.

But Mr. Randolph has resigned, and as to the origin of
his resignation there are, as usual, two stories. His friends

454 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

say that it was only certain indiscreet communications be
tween him and the French Minister Fauchet,1 and they very
much blame the President for having made an eclat of a
thing, which they think ought to have been overlooked or
arranged without noise.

They further threaten very hard, that Mr. Randolph, to
vindicate himself, will divulge some dreadful secrets as to
the English party among us, and if there be such secrets I
hope he will. It is time that the people of America should
know who are their true friends, and who only the tools of
foreign powers.

The matter is yet unsettled, but is in every respect a thing
to be regretted. But it gives great pleasure to our (not
friends) in England. . . .

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
[TIMOTHY PICKERING]

LONDON, December 19, 1795.
SIR :

I return to the conversation of which it was my purpose
to give you the relation.2 The first point started was that
of alienage, residence, and domicility, which recurs in various
forms in many of the cases now in the courts. Lord Gren-
ville said that a statement was preparing taking up the sub
ject in all its different points of view, which might lead to a
settlement of the principles on which an agreement may be
made, in which case a retrospective operation may be given
to it so far as will be practicable, to guide the decisions in the
causes now pending that involve the question ; and he said

1 Jean-Antoine- Joseph Fauchet (1761-1834).

2 Adams had met Lord Grenville on the i6th.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 455

he would send me this statement in the course of a few days
for consideration.

The questions relative to the trade in American vessels
with the French West India Islands, and from them to France
and to other parts of Europe, were then noticed. He said
that the Lords of Appeal had been and were still sincerely
desirous to avoid the necessity of establishing any new prin
ciples of decision that might bear the appearance of harsh
ness towards neutral trade ; but had uniformly endeavored
to govern their decrees conformably to rules practised upon
in the course of former wars. That a trade opened by an
enemy in favor of neutral navigation, flagrante bello, and
contrary to the permanent system pursued by that enemy
in time of peace, had, therefore, been viewed as inadmissible ;
as a mere evasion for the purpose of giving protection to
hostile property, and so far as the principle of former de
cisions on this head would apply to the present cases, the
Lords Commissioners would probably be governed by them.
He then mentioned the case of the Dutch ships that occurred
in the year 1758, and said he had a report concerning them
made by persons of the highest judicial authority in this
country, namely the late Lord Mansfield, Sir Dudley Ryder
and Doctor Charles Hay.1

I observed that not having seen that report, I had not an
opportunity to remark upon the doctrines it might contain;
but with respect to the case of the Dutch ships, admitting
in the first place that it was parallel to that of our trade on
the present occasion, the Americans might inquire, whether
that nation were satisfied with the determinations in the
Admiralty Courts of this country, and cheerfully acquiesced
in the principles upon which the proceedings here were

1 The "rule of the War of 1756." See Moore, Digest of International Law, VII.
383.

456 THE WRITINGS OF [i795

founded. That if the fact was otherwise, and strong re
monstrances were made by the Dutch government at that
time against those proceedings, we might rather conclude
it was not a point generally admitted as the settled law of
nations. That the opinions of the British lawyers and judges
in such an instance, however respectable, could be allowed as
authorities only so far as they might show the opinion of a
single nation, of a nation that was a party in the question,
and whose judgment would therefore be more liable to a
scruple than it would be in the case of a principle, which
should have had the sanction of similar opinions in other
countries.

He admitted in some measure the distinction, but said that
the final acquiescence of the Dutch in the case alluded to
appeared from the fact of its having produced no eventual
difference between the two nations, and that as there was
no common judge among sovereigns, every nation must con
sider its own decisions as authorities.

I then said that we thought there was a very material dis
tinction between the two cases. That from such a knowl
edge as we had obtained of the transactions concerning the
Dutch ships, we conceived the principle upon which they
were held liable to condemnation, rested on the idea that
they were adopted as French, for the purpose of covering
French property, that they navigated by special licenses
and were on no other ground admitted into the French colo
nies, insomuch that every Dutch vessel, not provided with
such special license, was liable to the exclusions of the per
manent French colonial system of that time, and on attempt
ing to trade with the French colonies would have been
subjected to the common condemnation of a prohibited
commerce. That in our case, a general, permanent and
unlimited decree, proceeding from the supreme authority of

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 457

the French nation, had permitted our intercourse with their
colonies : 1 that our merchants had in consequence pursued
the trade upon their own capitals, on their own account and
risk, and there could, therefore, not be the same ground for
presuming the sole intention of covering the property of
parties to the war.

He said that the general nature of the decree would not in
his opinion create a material difference, if as seemed evident
from its date, it was adopted with an immediate view of the
state of war into which the nation had just entered, and in
tended manifestly to obviate the distress which that state
would naturally produce: "but I presume (he added) that
the counsel for the American claims involving these ques
tions will be instructed to urge this distinction before the
Lords of Appeal " : and on my answering that they doubtless
would be, he said, that if it was found to be just, he believed
it would have its proper weight on the minds of the Com
missioners.

The question as to the extent of places besieged or block
aded was noticed, but not much dwelt upon. I stated our
idea that it is by the law of nations limited to such places as
may be surrounded in such a manner as to prevent the intro
duction of all supplies. He doubted whether the principle
could be admitted in such a latitude, but appeared to be of
opinion, that there would be no occasion at least for an im
mediate discussion of this article.2

A decision had already taken place at the last session of
the Commissioners concerning property shipped in Ameri
can names, but previously contracted for as French property
and to become such at the moment of landing. The prop-

1 The decree of March 26, 1793. See American State Papers, Foreign Relations,
I. 363.

2 See Moore, Digest of International Law, VII. 788, 797.

458 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

erty was condemned, and, indeed, Lord Grenville appeared
to think there was very little weight in the arguments I
urged in support of claims resting on that foundation. I
said that even by the common law, a transfer of property was
held to be completed only by the delivery of the article, and
that where the shipment is on neutral account and risk, the
loss in case of capture must fall upon the neutral owner
too : but he said that in such circumstances the intention
to cover the property appears so manifest, that he believed
no impartial arbitrator would think it entitled to protection.
I had been informed by Mr. Bayard that in one of the late
causes, a question had been started by one of the Lords Com
missioners, whether potash is not to be considered in future
as an article of contraband. I told his lordship that I felt
it incumbent to take the earliest moment to be explicit on
this subject. That the article was so important in the list
of exports from the United States, that their interest would
be most essentially injured by the assumption of such a prin
ciple, and I could see no possible ground upon which the pre
tension could be raised. He said that the occasion from
whence the question arose was known to me : it was the use
that had recently been made of this article for the fabrica
tion of gunpowder. That the principle upon which all the
modern treaties had defined the specific articles to be held as
contraband, was the use which may be made of such mate
rials for the purposes of war. That saltpetre itself had not
been in the class of contraband before the use of gunpowder
was discovered, and that it was perfectly equitable and con
formable to the law of nations, that if in process of time any
article should be made subservient to warlike employment
which has not been previously thus used, it should be con
sidered as having lost its character of innocence, and be in
volved in the proscription of contraband. I replied that if

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 459

it be even admitted, then an article unquestionably free
may by a new application of it to warlike uses assume the
dubious character of a mixed article, that could not surely
authorize a single nation, without the concurrent assent of
others, to place it upon the list of contraband : and having
said thus much I should only add, that his Lordship had
signed the treaty long after the new use of potash in France
had been made and was universally notorious ; and yet it
was not mentioned in the treaty among the contraband
articles. He said this last observation was certainly con
clusive as far as relates to the United States.

One more observation relative to the Lords of Appeal will
conclude the topics embraced in this conversation on their
subject. I said that these claims had become an object so
highly interesting to the people of the United States, that I
could have wished they might have fairly laid before them the
special point of every decision, particularly of those which
might be unexpected to them, or variant from their interests.
In such a case, if it were shown to their conviction, that the
determination was supported by the admitted laws of na
tions, I had not a doubt but they would freely and cheer
fully acquiesce. That I could not, therefore, but regret
that the decrees of the Commissioners were frequently
founded upon the special circumstances of the case, because
the point of decision is thereby left uncertain, and we have
no opportunity to discuss it, or to receive proper satis
faction of its justice. He admitted that it was desirable the
point should appear as much as possible, but said that in
these cases the law, the fact and the evidence were so blended,
and became often so necessarily complicated, as made it im
possible to reduce the determination to any single point, or
to form it otherwise than upon the special circumstances of
the case.

460 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

He afterwards mentioned the proposed agreement for
the settlement of the minor cases by an arbitration. But I
think best to leave this matter in its present state until Mr.
Pinckney returns. Mr. Bayard states the original idea to
have been of a sort of compromise, and between that and an
arbitration to which Lord Grenville pertinaciously adheres,
the difference is too great for me to give my assent to the
alteration without instructions for my warrant. As Mr.
Pinckney will be here in the course of a week or ten days at
farthest, this delay can operate no material injury.

I repeated the request for a written minute of the agree
ment we had come to, concerning the pay of the Commis
sioners, and was told it should certainly be sent me shortly.

It is perhaps unnecessary for me to add many obser
vations upon the substance of the above-related conver
sation. But as the mere statement may possibly have a
tendency to raise expectations which may not be realized,
I find myself obliged to say, that I have not the confidence
in the general policy of this cabinet, or in the particular dis
positions of any one member of it, that would lead me to any
strong reliance upon mere verbal declarations : much less
that would permit me to draw any inferences from them.
The manner of Lord Grenville at this time was as apparently
candid and favorable as the substance of what he said ; but
the effects alone are the proper grounds of dependence. If
it be true that the Lords of Appeal will not extend any un
friendly principle beyond the clear doctrines of former prec
edent ; if it be true that the manifest distinction between
our West India trade during this war, and the case of the
Dutch ships in 1758 will have its proper weight on their
minds ; if it be true that there will be no occasion to discuss
the question as to the extent of places besieged or blockaded,
we may expect a much more liberal measure of justice from

17951 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 461

the decrees in which these points will be involved, than my
belief will warrant. As to the doubt raised upon the nature
of potash, the treaty certainly disposes of that, and indeed if
it did not, the pretension of adding to the list of contraband
by the authority of this nation alone is so absurd, that in any
other than a British maritime court, I cannot conceive it
would be seriously made.

As to the question of the domicile, nothing has yet been
said upon which a conclusion might fairly be drawn. A can
did disposition to agree upon the subject in an equitable
manner is professed, and as it is reserved for further dis
cussion it will of course be noticed in future communications.1
I have the honor &c.

TO TIMOTHY PICKERING

LONDON, December 22, 1795.

Private.
SIR :

One of the favorite objects of this government is an in
crease of the dominions in the East and West Indies. A
formidable expedition with 25,000 troops has recently sailed
for the latter, but has already met with two gales of wind
extremely violent, which have damaged many of the vessels,
and reduced considerably the numbers of men that go to
gether. It has also been delayed in its departure at least
three months later than was intended. It appears to be the
general opinion here that it must inevitably succeed, that
its force will be irresistible, and the whole island of St.

1 In urging that instructions be sent to Pinckney, Washington wrote to Pickering,
March 6, 1796: "Mr. Adams' letter, and Lord Grenville's propositions, relative to
captured vessels of a certain description, and with respect to the pay of the commis
sioners, require immediate attention." Writings of Washington (Ford), XIII. 175.

462 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

Domingo is already in possession of this country by antici
pation. Yet if it should fail, Englishmen may remember
that it will not be the first instance of an invincible armada
defeated, and considering the climate to which they are
going the loss of three months of the season may be con
sidered as equivalent to the loss of half of their men.

That they may succeed is not I think to be wished by
Americans. For, Sir, it appears more and more clear that
the real and ultimate object of this government in their
present war, is to establish the commercial and maritime
supremacy of the nation over the ruins of those of France.
They have hitherto been so far successful in this project,
that they are encouraged vigorously to pursue it, and if they
can terminate the war by obtaining possession of Corsica,
of the Cape of Good Hope, and of Martinico, with their own
navy greatly increased, and that of France equally reduced,
they will have gone very far towards securing their purpose.
It is intimated by the ministerial partisans that little hesi
tation will be made here at giving up the Austrian Nether
lands, and even the cause of the Stadtholder in the United
Provinces, provided an indemnity shall be given to this coun
try by an accession to its transmarine possessions. I have
very little doubt of the fact, because the sacrifice of allies
and the abandonment of solemn previous stipulations, would
operate only as a removal of the mask, as soon as the purpose
for which it was taken has been secured.

It is not merely from views of commercial aggrandize
ment, however, that the posession of the French islands in
the West Indies is held as an object of the first magnitude
in this country. It enters into all their calculations relative
to the United States. It forms a part of their defensive
system, and they believe that their commercial existence
depends in some measure upon the event. This may serve

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 463

as a clue to the extreme anxiety which they have uniformly
discovered since the commencement of this war to exclude
the Americans not only from their own, but from all the
foreign islands. It explains the orders of the 6th of No
vember, 1793. It accounts for their obstinate adherence to
that clause in the I2th article of the late treaty, which has
been suspended. It is the key to that singular principle
which they are now determined on their single authority to
establish as the settled law of nations, that no other than the
customary peace trade can be allowed to neutral nations, by
a belligerent party in time of war. Anything that shall
serve as a barrier between the United States and the West
Indies will be attempted by them, and in addition to all
their other grounds of alarm, they are now apprehensive
that if France should retain her islands at the peace, she will
be compelled, by her own want of navigation, to leave the
intercourse between them and the United States as free to
the latter as it has been since this war, and that she will be
unable to resume the exclusive system at least for several
years. The genius of the navigation act shudders at the
prospect, and will think thousands of mere human lives, and
millions of treasure, most profitably spent in preventing the
reality.

But, as Mr. Hammond says, it is impossible for them to
think of everything, and they sometimes find themselves
obliged to yield to an irresistible course of events. I am
sensible how dangerous a thing it is to deliver an opinion
upon future occurrences, else I would venture to foretell
that whatever commercial negotiations may at any time be
carried on between the United States and Britain, what
ever is given by the latter will be extorted by the necessity
of the times, and nothing will be conceded to any liberality
of system. There is no such thing as commercial liberality

464 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

in the country. To engross the commerce of the world to
themselves is the professed or secret wish of every heart
among them, and if there are a very small number who be
lieve that the prosperity of other nations would rather ad
vance than prejudice their own, the effect of this opinion
is destroyed by the political consideration that their views
would not be secured by their own positive advantage, with
out a correspondent negative for all other nations. The
character of the former supposition is equality, but all
their" ideas run towards their superiority.

It is, therefore, a circumstance very remarkable that at
this time there is before the Privy Council a proposal for
admitting into the ports of this country the produce of
foreign West India Islands, in neutral vessels — rum, sugar,
coffee and cocoa, for re-exportation, and cotton and molasses
for consumption here. The merchants appear to be of
opinion that this will soon be permitted by proclamation,
and if so the present would certainly be a favorable moment
to us for negotiation upon this subject. But what has in
duced them to be prepared for a regulation so different from
the spirit of the condition to the 1 2th article of the treaty ?
It is because their adherence to their own system has driven
the Americans into another course of trade, from which it
has not been practicable to exclude them : because that other
course of trade not only tends to carry their custom else
where, but to give them the means and opportunity of tracing
new channels for their commerce : because the merchants of
this country are losing their American commissions, and
ten per cent of profit upon the whole balance of the trade in
the rate of exchange ; in short, because their own apparent
interest forces them to an indulgence equally adverse to
their feelings and their principles. But if they can obtain
possession of the French Islands, then the old maxims of

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 465

exclusion will be revived in all their force, and instead of
resigning themselves to a mere participation of our profits,
they will boldly resume the purpose of intercepting them
from us.

The scarcity of grain has still an appearance so alarming,
that the Parliament besides many regulations to reduce the
consumption have also encouraged its importation by a bounty
upon wheat, and upon Indian corn. It was at first pro
posed to make a distinction, so as to give a larger bounty on
the importations from the Mediterranean, than on those
from America ; but they were finally put upon the same
footing. The wants of Europe during the ensuing year will
undoubtedly turn to the benefit of the United States as much
as they have ever yet done, but on their part they must not
suffer their patience to be yet exhausted. The American
will infallibly triumph over the European system eventually,
provided it be pursued with as much perseverance. But an
hour of haste or resentment indulged in at the present mo
ment would take the advantage which it now possesses from
its hand, and throw the scale of probable success on this side
of the water.

All my letters to you, Sir, public and private, have de
livered my sentiments with a freedom which perhaps needs
an apology, and which certainly nothing but an unlimited
confidence can reconcile with personal prudence. A sense
of duty it is hoped will be admitted at least as my excuse, and
if my opinions are in any instance warped by prejudice, I
am persuaded that your discernment will distinguish, and
hope your candor will overlook them. I remain, etc.

2 H

466 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

TO SYLVANUS BOURNE

LONDON, December 24, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR :

Mr. Johnson sent me a few days ago your favor of the
ist instant, inclosing the letter of Mr. Roos. I shall accord
ingly procure for him a copying press, with a considerable
quantity of the paper and ink-powder. The directions for
making the ink and for using the press are both in French
and English, and must be attentively observed. I shall
perhaps bring the press over with me, as I expect to return
in the course of a few weeks. If, however, an earlier op
portunity to send it shall offer, I will embrace it.

The most recent accounts from America contain the usual
mixture of sweet and bitter, but with more than an ordinary
quantity of both ingredients. The attack upon the Presi
dent is still carried on with that virulence and brutality
which have uniformly been characteristic of an American
party mingling with a foreign influence. Mr. Randolph, I
suppose, means to come forward with his publication at the
moment when Congress shall meet. The depredations by
the Bermuda privateers continue to irritate and fester the
public mind, and the present session of the national legis
lature will doubtless produce great heats, and perhaps ani
mosities ; though I hope not any dangerous divisions.

It is not a little remarkable that this is the critical situa
tion of our country at a moment when the national prosperity
continues to grow with a luxuriance of which the annals
of the world give no example. One would think our people
determined to dash the cup of happiness from their own lips,
merely because it overflows. To give you an instance of
our commercial state, a Boston newspaper of October 14,
states that within the month preceding that date, one hun-

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 467

dred sail of vessels had entered there from foreign ports.
It is said here to be unquestionable, that the exports from
the United States during the year ending September 30,
1795, amounted to more than thirty-five millions of dollars.
When we recollect that at the same date only four years
before, one half of this sum was considered as the proof of
some extraordinary cause, which would not be supported
to an equal extent during the years subsequent, is it possible
to avoid the reflection, that the American government, and
the President in particular, do not meet with that retri
bution which has been richly deserved ? At the present mo
ment if our neutrality be still preserved, it will be due to the
President alone. Nothing but his weight of character and
reputation, combined with his firmness and political in
trepidity, could have stood against the torrent that is still
tumbling with a fury that resounds even across the Atlantic.
He is now pledged, and he is unmoved. If his system of ad
ministration now prevails, ten years more will place the
United States among the most powerful and opulent nations
on earth. If he fails, though the Demon of Discord may
raise a cloud of prejudice and obloquy around the splendor
of his fame for the present moment, it will only serve to add
a brighter radiance to his future glory. Yet I deprecate this
event because the value of his administration will in that
case be proved by the deprivation of the blessings it has
secured to his country.

This, my good friend, is not the language of a courtier.
You and I have known the time when not to applaud the man
who united all hearts was almost held to be a crime. Should
that time return again while he lives, my tribute of venera
tion and gratitude shall again remain silent in my heart.
But now, when he does not unite all hearts, when on the con
trary a powerful party at home, and a mighty influence from

468 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

abroad, are joining all their forces to assail his reputation
and his character, I think it my duty as an American to
avow my sentiments as they concern that man.

You know, I suppose, that in the course of the last sum
mer a peace was concluded with all the western Indians.
The last papers mention the receipt of official news of the
peace with the Algerines.1 In addition to these may be
reckoned the successful issue of Mr. Pinckney's negotiation
in Spain.2 In this country a relaxation from the rigor of
their navigation laws has already become inevitable, if they
remain at war, and we at peace. Here are objects secured
by our neutrality, and by that alone. Compare them with
the most advantageous issue that a war might by any possi
bility have had, and tell me what you think of those who still
hesitate about the choice ? Though by the way, I suspect
the Algerine peace is to be abused, and we are to be told it
might have been had upon infinitely better terms.

There is another pretty story current, arising from the
same source, but which it is to be feared will now lose its
use. It is, that when France and Spain were negotiating
their late peace, one of the articles insisted on by the former
was navigation of the Mississippi for us. But upon Mr.
Pinckney's going through Paris without communicating to
the French government Mr. Jay's treaty, the Committee of
Public Safety immediately sent orders to Barthelemy to
give up that point. I have this account as coming from the
express knowledge of Mr. Monroe.3 Had Mr. Pinckney failed,

1 Concluded September 5, 1795, by Joseph Donaldson, Jr., on the part of the
United States. The text is in American State Papers, Foreign Relations, I. 530.

2 Taking form in the treaty of October 27, 1795, which reached the United States
February 22, 1796, and was ratified by a unanimous vote of the Senate.

3 Monroe to Madison, September 8, 1795, in Writings of James Monroe, II. 355.
Pinckney did not ask the interference of France, because he knew the displeasure
felt by the treaty with England. Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, II. 82.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 469

what a charming anecdote this was to make the treaty with
Britain odious, and to give a lift to the influence of France.
But alas ! when the generous bounty of the Committee
was withdrawn, it seems the United States could obtain the
same thing on their own account. But perhaps, indeed, the
tale will be worth keeping up, to show what France would
have done for us, if we had been good children.

It is on this ground that the treaty with Algiers is to be
blamed. I know nothing of the circumstances attending
that negotiation; but I perceive that a great deal of credit
is meant to be given to the French government for what they
would have done for us in that matter, if time had been given
them, and, therefore, I conclude they had little or no hand
in what was done.1

That the Americans now in France should love the French
nation and admire the French Republic, is natural and ra
tional. They are a most amiable people. Few Americans
have had an opportunity to be more acquainted with what
they formerly were than I have, and if I do not look on them
as the first people on the face of the globe, it is only because
I have a country. The American people are under obliga
tions to France. I acknowledge them and would have them
repaid with honor and generosity : nor can I dissent from the
feelings of gratitude which actuate so strongly our country
men in France on that account. But if there are Americans
who have considered speculation in the funds of the United
States as almost a disqualification for political opinions, and
those very Americans have speculated in the funds of the
French Revolution, I think it would become them to be

1The French consul was originally concerned in the negotiation, and Hum
phreys was directed to obtain the cooperation of the French government. The
event was largely due, however, to the aid of a Swede, Pierre Eric Skjoldebrand,
who was associated with Donaldson.

470 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

moderate in their panegyrics, or expect that their opinions
will be taken with a grain of allowance.

I remain &c

MY DEAR SIR :

TO JOHN ADAMS

LONDON, December 29, 1795.

When I say I hope to be relieved from my present situa
tion in a few days, I wish not to have my motives misunder
stood. In my letter from Helvoetsluys you will find that
I came over here not unaware of what my business might
draw upon myself, and when you advise me to be of good
cheer and courage, it must be from a consideration of the
thing in a similar perspective. But I should be a wretched
servant of my country indeed, if I were capable of shrink
ing from the performance of a public service, because it may
be disagreeable or even dangerous. When I am clearly con
vinced that my duty commands me to act, if the love of ease,
or the love of life, or the love of fame itself, dear as it is, could
arrest my hand, or give me a moment's hesitation in the
choice, I should certainly be fit for no situation of public
trust whatever. This principle is a moral obligation upon
every man in office, and I hope not to be considered as des
titute of it. " Universal reproach" is indeed "far worse to
bear than violence"; but I am fully sensible that it must
never interfere with the dictates of one's own mind for the
regulation of his conduct.

So much for the principle. But I may go a little further.
The struggle against a popular clamor is not without its
charms in my mind. Nothing great or valuable among men
was ever achieved without the counterpoise of strong op-

1795] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 471

position, and the persecution, that proceeds from opinion
becomes itself a title to esteem, when the opinion is found to
have been erroneous. There are, indeed, situations in which
no service can be rendered, without the assistance and support
of popularity ; but there are others in which it can be of no
public advantage, and in that case popular opposition is
nothing more than a danger to defy, or a difficulty to over
come. To say that the danger may prove fatal, or the diffi
culty insuperable, is no more than to say that a soldier
marching to battle may leave his life upon the field.

It is not therefore the dread of newspaper scurrility or of
a burning effigy that is irksome to me at the present moment,
or that induces a wish to be relieved from the execution of
the business for which I was ordered hither. It is another
thing which was equally within my expectation before I
came from Holland, but which I have found to a greater
extent than I imagined. It is that all commercial negotia
tion on the part of this country will be captious and illiberal.
That nothing will be conceded but to necessity, and every
thing will be obtained that artifice or cajolery can pilfer, or
that insolence under all the forms of courtly politeness can
extort. I have been accustomed all my life to plain dealing
and candor, and am not sufficiently versed in the art of politi
cal swindling to be prepared for negotiating with an Euro
pean Minister of State. In other words, besides numerous
other deficiencies of which on this occasion I am strongly
sensible, I have not the experience which the proper per
formance of the duty would require. It is not my intention
to be abusive, or to call things by harder names than they
deserve ; but my correspondence with the Secretary of
State will shew to demonstration what sort of negotiators
I have found here.

Lord Grenville is extremely plausible, and has the art of

472 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

simplicity to an eminent degree. If I am not misinformed
he affects the reputation of having a word upon which de
pendence may be placed. But I have no reason to believe
in his candor or his sincerity. Mr. Hammond is an under
Secretary of State in his office. He is only cunning, and
though he may thereby successfully practise an imposition,
he is too easily seen through to obtain the confidence neces
sary for thorough-paced intrigue.1

Between them both they have partially executed a hope
ful project upon me, the only result of which hitherto has been
to place me in an awkward and ridiculous situation, but
which might have led me into very improper conduct, and
such as might even have drawn at least a color of censure
upon the American government itself. The ultimate ob
ject of this manoeuvre has not yet been unfolded, though I
think I know what it is. It will perhaps never be worth my
pains to write, or yours to read, a tedious detail of a trans
action, insignificant in itself, and to which circumstances
only may give importance. Should that prove the case, you
shall have the story at full length. At present I shall only
say that it suited their purposes to convert me into a minis
ter to this Court, and that they have persevered in this
intention with such a supple obstinacy, that one of my prin
cipal cares has been to disclaim the proffered acknowledg-

1 "I have reason to believe that the anxiety and perseverance with which the
design was pursued on my arrival here, of recognizing me in a character to which I
had neither right nor pretensions, was for the purpose of fixing me as the negotiator
for the remainder of the treaty, to the exclusion of Mr. Pinckney. Indeed, in the
course of the discussions which were produced by my resistance against that design,
Mr. Hammond very intelligibly intimated to me, that this government considered
it as a sort of engagement on the part of the American government, that this nego
tiation was to be conducted by me, and he expressed in terms not very equivocal
an idea that Mr. Pinckney was viewed here as unfriendly to this government, and
that they should have a decided preference for treating with me, rather than with
him." To the Secretary of State, January 20, 1796. Ms.

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 473

ment of a rank to which I have no title, and to avoid every
act that could make me accessary to an usurpation of char
acter. The determination on my part has been pursued
with the utmost candor and frankness. On theirs they have
neither been ingenuous to avow their design, nor compliant
to abandon it.

But in this singular contest, while they are so liberal of
their acknowledgments and I am obliged to persist in declin
ing them, the result of the whole matter is that I am not
in my proper place. This conclusion, combining with the
species of negotiation that I should expect from those who
have already given me such specimens, leads me to the wish
of having nothing more to do with them, and of being re
lieved from a situation of personal embarrassment to my
self, and of little or no probable utility to the public.

Mr. Pinckney is hourly expected to return, and his ex
perience and character, as well as his talents, are much better
adapted to treat with men to whom action is an ambush
and thought a strategem, than I am.1 As to the subject of
negotiation, you know that the point of the twelfth article
of the late treaty touches the ark of their navigation system,
and you may judge from thence what a disposition they will
have to be liberal on that score. After they have been to the
very verge of a war with the United States by their en
deavors to exclude the Americans from the French islands,
it is hardly to be supposed that they will readily give us access
to their own. But at present their own interest so loudly
calls on them for a relaxation of their navigation laws, that
they now find themselves obliged to submit to it in a degree,
and possibly they may be more inclined towards an agree-

1 Pinckney arrived in London, January 13, 1796, returning from his mission to
Spain. He had written to Washington, October 10, 1795, asking to be released
from office in June, 1796.

474 THE WRITINGS OF [1795

ment advantageous to our interests than they have been
hitherto. Of this however I can say nothing positive not
having had any conversation with them from which any
inference can be drawn.

The principle upon which they meant to have carried
through the 6th of November [1793] orders, is that a bellig
erent power is under no obligation to allow any trade be
tween a neutral nation and the other belligerent than the
customary peace trade. This rule they have endeavored
in former wars to establish, and they have not yet aban
doned it. I had not long since a conversation with one of
their eminent professional men on the subject. He endeav
ored to convince me that the maxim is highly favorable to
the permanent national interest of the United States.
"Separate yourselves" said he "from the mere temporary
consideration of present circumstances. You are a com
mercial nation, and the only powers with whom you will be
liable to be engaged in war are those that have possessions in
the West Indies. There is the part in which you may ex
pect to find them most vulnerable. But if you admit the
principle that at the moment when you may be involved in
such a war your antagonist may open to neutral nations, a
trade which in time of peace he always reserves exclusively
to himself, you disarm yourselves of the most efficacious
weapon you have." I told him that the Americans chose
rather to admit the Law of Nations as it is, than to aim at
the settlement of principles which might be favorable to their
particular interest ; and further that they did not wish to sup
pose a state of war between themselves and any other nation,
as it was their desire to remain at peace with all the world.

I am in anxious expectation of the accounts from Amer
ica since the meeting of Congress. There is every reason to

i795l JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 475

apprehend that the session will be a period of political
warmth, if not of animosity. The direct and formal attack
upon the President, which has been carried on in the usual
style, and which is noticed in your letter, was not unexpected
to me, and I think you must have received very soon after
the date of yours a letter from me written at the Hague in
July or August, containing the opinions I had then formed
on that head. That the systematic course of abuse pointed
against him, and which was arranged in Europe before it was
put in execution in America, is connected with the scheme for
dividing the American executive, is perhaps nothing more
than a conjecture on my part ; but I have little doubt, that it
was merely preparatory for the purpose of bringing forward
in due time a change of men or of government in our country.
It is however proper for me on this occasion to observe,
that I believe there are two different branches of the system,
which plays with so much efficacy across the Atlantic upon
the passions and upon the opinions of the American people.
One of these branches is not hostile to the real interest of
the United States, or at least it is much less so than the
other. The attack proceeded from the most unfriendly
quarter, and if it had the acquiescence of the other, as an
experiment it had not their approbation ; and if it should
fail of success, it is not improbable but the trial of honey will
be substituted for that of vinegar. Excuse this trivial
image. I can mean nothing ludicrous in speaking upon such
a subject ; it conveys merely my idea of their intentions, and
I would not have used it, if I could venture to be more
explicit.

I am &C.1

1 "The newspapers sent herewith contain intelligence of two important events.
The armistice concluded between the French and Austrian armies on the Rhine,
and the return into port of the famous West India expedition. It remains as yet

476 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

TO JOHN ADAMS

LONDON, February icy 1796.

Mr. Randolph's pamphlet1 had arrived before Mr. Hall,
but I had seen only some extracts from it, which : were and
yet are dealt out in some of the daily papers here; . I think
he rolls the stone of Sisyphus with a more impetuous recoil
than I ever witnessed before. I confess I should never
have thought that even the delirium of guilt could publish
such a production, and imagine it would injure the reputation
of the President, or defend that of the writer. Itf.niy last
numbered letter to you I mentioned an opinion that the
party in France would perhaps return to the courting system,
and I am almost tempted to believe that they advised this
publication by way of atonement. For it seems tcf me im
possible that the production should have been given to the
world, but by the agency of a person inveterate even to ran
cor against Mr. Randolph, and disposed to raise the character
of the President higher if possible than its former elevation.

But the publication to the world of confidential. opinions
and sentiments entertained by the President with respect
to the European parties and governments, will produce in. a
degree the effect for which it was calculated; They will
produce some mischief. The sensation here upon seeing a

uncertain whether the former is a presage of speedy pacification, or a mere agree
ment to take a breathing spell during the extremity of the season. As a neutral
nation, deeply interested in the fate of the West Indies, we I think may consider
the failure of the formidable apparatus of this country as a favorable event. While
Britain weakens by war, and America strengthens by peace, every true American
must feel a double satisfaction." To John Adams, February I, 1796. Msi.

1 A Vindication of Mr. Randolph's Resignation, Philadelphia, 1795. See Conway,
Omitted Chapters of History disclosed in the Life and Papers of Edmund Randolph^
1888.

i796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 477

proclamation to all the world that the President has been
inimical to England, and the friend of the French cause, is
very perceptible and very strong. It will not only corrob
orate and confirm that deep rooted malignity towards us
which governs the cabinet, but it alienates and irritates the
part of the nation who are well disposed towards us.

They have however so much at present upon their hands
that they will not quarrel with us. But no small use will be
made of this pamphlet by the Ministers of this country. I
have reason to suppose that it has given them great satis
faction, for their purposes concur so thoroughly with those
of Mr. Randolph, that they seize with delight everything
that contributes to promote them. It is one of those sin
gularities which seem reserved exclusively for the compli
cation of political intrigues, that the views of our French
party and those of the Hawkesbury l conclave here, are ex-
T actly the same, and accordingly they are continually play-

. ing into each other's hands. They wish to perpetuate the
•,.«• » -

variances between the United States and Britain, and ar
dently catch at everything that has a tendency to that end.
Upon this subject I think it necessary to give you my
opinion explicitly. The cabinet here have of late affected
"".'i great regard for the Government of the United States. In
''.this particular too they have coincided with our most virulent
anarchists, and have taken all possible pains to countenance
and give credit to their assertions that the American ad
ministrations were upon terms of great harmony with that
of Britain. The truth is that the American Government,
and those who are at the head of its administration, have not
upon earth more rancorous enemies, than the springs which
move the executive machine of this country. They know
perfectly well that the strength, as well as the prosperity,

1 Charles Jcnkinson (1727-1808), who was created Earl of Liverpool in 1796.

478 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

of the United States, depend upon the efficiency of the Gov
ernment ; and above all things they dread the proof which
any continued course of tranquillity would afford that it is
a good practical government. In short every one of their
feelings, individual and national, is hostile to us, and the
policy of Vergennes and Montmorin to prevent our ac
quiring a consistency which would make us really formi
dable, is here envenomed by the recollection of former defeat
and disappointment.

Between the United States and Great Britain no cordial
ity can exist. I do not think it is on our part to be desired.
But peace may, and I hope will, continue, notwithstanding
all the conspiracies that have been formed against it in
America and Europe.1

TO JOHN ADAMS

LONDON, March 2Oth, 1796.

MY DEAR SIR :

The people indeed everywhere ardently sigh for peace.
Everywhere they perceive that they have been made the
victims of their own passions and follies. They are every-

1 "Mr. Adams, who was with me this morning [February 22, 1796], in his wrath
and indignation at the conduct of the British government, seemed absolutely mad.
He breathed nothing but war, and was content to run into it at the hazard of our
finances and even of our Constitution. Such sentiments arise in him only for the
moment and would not certainly influence his conduct ; but such language, if held
to those who should repeat it, must do mischief here. I tell him, when he asserts
that the administration of this country means ill to us, that I think they only mean
good to themselves, excepting always only two or three men who are personally
vexed at our prosperity." Diary and Letters of Gouverneur Morris, II. 157. Adams
records in his Diary (Ms.) the same day: "Conversation with Mr. Morris. Do
not at all concur in his opinions. Think him more decidedly English the more I
see of him."

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 479

where becoming more and more convinced that the struggle
which they are still obliged to maintain, although its original
object has completely failed on both sides, can only be de
structive to them, and they would gladly bury in oblivion
the abstracted madness which created such a fanatical agi
tation of their brains about three years ago. But in all the
governments of Europe new and old the people are considered
as an instrument, not as the object, of political calculations.
Their interests, their feelings, and their wishes are not the
ultimate point of contemplation, but only a power over which
the control of the superintendent is more or less efficacious
according to the progress of events. The ruling powers
therefore here and in France, finding the spirits of their
combatants much exhausted, encourage them with hopes of
peace, and at the same time are taking infinite pains to con
tinue the war, and to shift each upon the other the odium of
that continuance.

At the opening of the present session of Parliament the
royal speech prepared the way for a sort of acknowledg
ment of the new French government, without which no pre
tence of negotiation could have been raised and supported.1
Soon after a message from the king formally declared that
he would meet any disposition to negotiate on the part of
France.2 Upon a debate which recently took place Mr.
Pitt declared that measures were taking which might lead
to a negotiation, and even at this day reports of actually
pending arrangements are industriously circulated and kept
up by the ministerial influence. On the other hand a mes
sage from the Executive Directory of France to the Legis
lative body some time since expressly said that the enemies,
or rather that enemies, of France had spoken of peace, and

1 Speech from the Throne, October 29, 1795, in Annual Register, 1795, 138.

2 Message from the King, December 8, 1795. Ibid., 140.

48o THE WRITINGS OF [1796

the same message professed a very cordial desire to terminate
the war.1

All this on both sides appears to be mere profession with
out sincerity. If the parties were really inclined to peace,
their pretensions as to the conditions of it are too widely
distant for them to meet without a further struggle. But
the governments both of France and Britain dread the con
sequences of peace themselves. The armies of France are
such formidable and unwieldy machines that the persons
in power are very unwilling to take them from that employ
ment which removes their attention from home ; while in
this country the monarchy and aristocracy view in horror
the prospect of a Republican establishment so near to them
selves.

The last pamphlet of Burke, which I lately sent you, dis
covers this temper in its natural colors, and another, pro
fessedly written upon the subject and entitled "Thoughts
upon the Prospect of a Regicide Peace," is announced for
publication within a short period. Their object is probably
to make a further experiment at fanaticizing the public
mind, or at least to revive the flame which has long been
drooping, and of late has been ready to expire. It is con
tending yet for ground which the ministers no longer dare
openly to avow, but which their ostensible declarations
rather disclaim.

Your ever affectionate and grateful son.

1 In April the English government printed letters which had passed between
William Wickham, English charge d'affaires in Switzerland, and Barthelemi, in
which the latter rejected the suggestion of a congress for a general pacification.

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 481

TO JOHN ADAMS

LONDON, April 4, 1796.
MY DEAR SIR :

I have some reason to suppose that the anti-neutral views
of the French government extend even to Hamburg and
Bremen, but their principal object will be the United States.
They are undoubtedly dissatisfied with the treaty between
us and Great Britain. This dissatisfaction does not how
ever proceed from themselves. It has been inspired by
Americans at Paris, who foster and encourage it with all
possible industry, and with ability profoundly systematic.1
From them (though I will not affirm by them) the French
government are led to believe, that this treaty will finally
throw the United States a corps perdu into the arms of Brit
ain, that we shall soon be totally lost to France, and that
unless the treaty can be overturned France must consider
us henceforth as an infallible ally of Britain against her.
With such a doctrine, coming from a source which they
naturally consider as respectable, inculcated and corroborated
by the personal talents of a man like Hichborn,2 and counter-

1 "You will be surprised to hear that the only Americans whom I found here
were a set of New Englandmen connected with Britain and who, upon British capi
tal, were trading to this country : that they are hostile to the French revolution is
what you well know : but that they should be thriving upon the credit which the
efforts of others in other quarters gain the American name here, you could not expect :
that as such they should be in possession of the little confidence we had and give
a tone to characters on our side of the Atlantic was still less to be expected. But
such was the fact." Monroe to Madison, June 30, 1795. Writings of James Monrof,
II. 313. "All the Americans recognized by Mr. Monroe were allowed to remain
there [Paris], notwithstanding the late decree." John Quincy Adams to Joshua
Johnson, June 2, 1796. Ms.

2 Benjamin Hichborn, described by Monroe as "an American gentleman of char
acter here (from Massachusetts)," gave Monroe his first knowledge of the contents
of the Jay treaty, having been made acquainted with them by John Trumbull.
Writings of James Monroe, II. 243.

21

482 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

acted by no one American in France, it may well be sup
posed that they have taken an alarm against a treaty which,
but for these incitements, they would have seen with per
fect indifference. Whether the late Minister Adet has
been an obstacle to the furtherance of these views I know
not, but probably it may be known to our government.
The principal reason I have to think he did not suit them is,
that they have never used the common artifices of party
blazoning to give him weight. Be this as it may, he is re
called,1 and a man by the name of Vincent 2 is to go out in
his stead. It is reported with that sort of mystery which
intends to spread a secret, that he is to speak a very high
language to our government, and it seems even to be in
sinuated that a clue is given him to demand a right which
it is supposed will bring the British treaty to the test of
execution. At the same time Mr. Thomas Paine, who lives
as an inmate in the house of Mr. Monroe, is writing one of
his efficacious pamphlets upon the subject, and this, his oc
cupation, is announced with much importance, to prepare
public expectation for the appearance of the production.3
To all these manoeuvres there will undoubtedly be others
correspondent in America. At the present stage of things

1 On February 15, Monroe was informed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that
the Directory considered the alliance between France and the United States to have
ceased to exist from the moment the Jay treaty was ratified, and they would send
a special envoy to make such a representation to the American government ; that
Adet had asked and obtained his recall. Monroe expressed astonishment and
concern, protesting against the policy and even the safety of such a step ; and while
he believed he had succeeded in toning down the anger of the government, and in
leading to less stringent measures, the sense of injury remained. Adet remained in
office until November 15, and in the country until the spring of 1797, for the pur
pose of influencing the election of 1796. As marking the displeasure of the French
government no successor was nominated.

2 Probably Pierre-Charles-Victor Vincent (1749-1817).

3 See Writings of James Monroe, II. 440.

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 483

I know not upon what the hopes of the party rest, but I think
it must be upon the refusal of the House of Representatives
to pass the laws necessary for the execution of the treaty.
Randolph, who is no longer a body devoid of weight dragged
along by the current of events ; Randolph, who has been at
length compelled to decide on his party and, as it should seem,
even without receiving the purchase money for his duty;
Randolph, of whom the party are now ashamed, but who
hopes to retrieve in their eyes his changeable errors by his
present devotion, has formally taken this ground in their
behalf, and they will doubtless adhere to it as long as it
shall be tenable. If the question should be brought for
ward during the present session of Congress, the operations
which I have mentioned above will not have time to pro
duce their effect. They will therefore endeavor to pass
this session without coming to the trial, and reserve all
their engines to play upon the next.

If in conformity to the treaty, the Western posts should be
delivered up on the first of June, I think that all these plans,
deeply concerted and ably conducted as they are, will
fail. The treaty will be fully carried into effect, and with
out making us the allies of Britain or the enemies of France
it will preserve our peace for the present with both. But
will the posts be delivered ? I hope they will, though I
have little confidence in the dispositions of this government,
and as little in any exertions here to procure the delivery, if
it should in any manner depend upon anything to be done
or said on the part of the United States.

The French government have perhaps been more readily
induced to adopt fears and resentments against the treaty,
from an idea that at present its defeat must be followed by
a war between us and Britain, a war upon their favorite
system, which should leave them at liberty to make their

484 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

peace without binding them to a common cause. They are
now better prepared for this system of policy than they were
the last year, for their provisions are in tolerable abundance,
and they do not depend upon our neutrality for subsistence.
They are therefore perhaps more strenuously inclined to
provoke us against Britain, and to enforce the views of the
party in America who hope for war, because they think it
would prove the destruction of what Fauchet calls the
treasurer's plans.

There may possibly be another object connected with
that of stimulating a rupture with Britain, the success of
which may be considered as important towards that purpose.
The Presidential elections are to take place in the course
of the present year. The experiment of an attack upon the
popularity of the President was made the last autumn and
winter. It was indeed altogether unsuccessful, but it pre
pared the way for the repetition of an assault, whenever the
circumstances should be favorable to the purpose. The
party are inveterate against the President, because they now
think him pledged in opposition to their views, and their
object has therefore been to impress the French rulers with
an opinion that he is inimical to their cause. This design
has not been entirely unsuccessful. Fauchet's certificate
openly avows the idea, and if the accounts I have heard from
France are true, the style of American conduct and conver
sation at Paris is by no means calculated to remove the im
pression. That the impression exists among the mem
bers of the French government Mr. Pinckney since his
return here assures me to be the case ; nor is it difficult,
since Randolph's pamphlet has been published, to trace
the origin of the prejudice and some of the motives on which
it is founded.

One of the great negotiators under Lewis the I4th, the

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 485

Comte d'Avaux,1 lays it down as a fundamental rule, that
the only successful mode of treating with the Dutch Republic
is by a constant and unremitting excitement of fear in the
minds of the ruling men. This maxim is not laid down in
Mably's 2 principles of negotiation, but its application ap
pears to have survived the French monarchy, and to be
transferred beyond the Atlantic. It may be remembered
how Genet in all his newspaper controversies perpetually
threatened us with the vengeance of his Republic, and how
faithfully his subalterns echoed his terrific strains. Since
his time the French Ministers have been more guarded in
their menaces, but the party have been very indulgent to
wield the same weapon for them. Thus Mr. Randolph not
only talks now of the "crisis which he fears may disturb our
harmony with France" but even in August, 1794, could
speak of " the hazard of mortally offending the French" How ?
Why, "by the punctilious observance of neutrality" Thus
many a letter from France has been written for the American
public to raise an opinion of French resentment against the
treaty, when nothing but the desire to stimulate that resent
ment existed. Thus we are in future to be told that France
will defeat our treaty with Algiers, that she will shut us out
from a participation of her commerce, perhaps even that she
is at the point of declaring war against us. All these things
are bottomed upon the principle of d'Avaux, and perhaps
others, which may be supposed to contain powers of per
sonal operation upon the feelings of our first magistrate, will
continue to be employed, however discouraging the ill success
of the former attempts may have been.

On one hand therefore he will be courted by the prospect
of every support from the party, and on the other that of an

1 Jean-Antoine de Mesmes, Comte d'Avaux (1640-1709).

2 Gabriel Bonnot de Mably (1709-1785).

486 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

opposition at least against the unanimity which marked the
two preceding elections, will be suffered to be seen, under
an expectation that it will have its influence in conciliating
the sentiments of the person to the measures of the party.
If this should not succeed, the attack of the last season will
be renewed with redoubled impetuosity, and if they cannot
hope to turn the balance of election they flatter themselves
that at least they can induce retirement or resignation from
the disgust of ill treatment. Such it seems according to
Fauchet's letter was the policy upon which the persecution
against Mr. Hamilton was conducted, and they will have
double reasons for pursuing it in this instance.

The removal of the President, however effected in the
tactics of the combined French and party powers, is to be
followed by a plan for introducing into the American Con
stitution a Directory instead of a President, and for taking
from the supreme Executive the command of the armed
force. This hopeful project has been intimated to you in a
former letter. How far it has been shaped and organized
I know not; whether the course of events will prevent its
advancement as a practical measure I shall not pretend to
say ; but of the design to bring it forward at the first favor
able moment I have not the shadow of a doubt.

The great error of the party in America has uniformly been
to grasp at too much, to place too great a dependence upon
the efficacy of their exertions, and to calculate upon a
popular temper much more favorable to their views than
the fact has ever proved. Notwithstanding all their ex
perience I think they are repeating the same mistake, and
I consider this as one of the indications that they will even
tually fail in their present as they have heretofore done in
their former objects. They now build their principal hopes
upon the non-delivery of the forts, and there is no circum-

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 487

stance that would so much confound and mortify them as a
faithful execution of the treaty by the British in that article.
This circumstance is so obvious, that it might be urged with
great force as an inducement to decide this government if
they were wavering on the point. The mode of introducing
the argument would indeed be a delicate point, but I am sure
it would have weight. Perhaps it has been or will be urged.

They take for granted that there will be no delivery. This
they presume will of course produce a refusal on our part to
carry the treaty into execution, the result of which will be
a decisive rupture between us and Britain, and a consequent
triumph of French party, French principles, and French
influence in the United States.

It is, however, now so late in the season that the present
year may be considered as secured, and by the close of this
campaign it appears probable that even France and Britain
will be prepared for serious negotiation. The increasing
clamors for peace on both sides of the channel will perhaps
compel the two governments to meet upon some composi
tion of terms, and in that case neither France, nor her humble
adorers in America, will be so strenuous to provoke the
quarrel, as they have been hitherto, and still are.

Against the maritime supremacy of this country, the
French government will indeed have a permanent motive to
unite her own powers with others ; nor do I think it an ob
ject to be neglected by any of the powers to whom the liberty
of commerce and navigation is interesting. The principles
of the armed neutrality, which have been so long dispersed
by the hurricane of the revolutionary contest, may again
be collected as the storm subsides, and at this day all the
governments which acceded to that system originally, are
doubtless again convinced of its importance, with the ex
ception only of Russia. It will indeed after the termination

488 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

of the present war be more important than ever, because the
naval preponderance of Britain will then be greater than it
has been at any former period. If, therefore, independent
of the present contest, a plan should be proposed for con
certing the means to check the spirit of domination upon
the sea, which Britain has so long avowed, and which be
comes formidable in proportion as her comparative strength
augments, the government will without doubt give it all
the consideration that may be proper. . . .

COMMISSION TO PORTUGAL

GEORGE WASHINGTON, President of the United States of America
To John Quincy Adams — Greeting

Reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Integrity,
Prudence and Ability, I have nominated and by and with the ad
vice and consent of the Senate, do appoint you the said John Quincy
Adams, Minister Plenipotentiary for the United States of America
at the Court of her most Faithful Majesty, authorizing you hereby
to do and perform all such matters and Things as to the said Place
of Office doth appertain, or as may be duly given you in charge
hereafter, and the said office to hold and exercise during the pleas
ure of the President of the United States for the time being. IN
TESTIMONY whereof I have caused the seal of the United States
to be hereunto affixed. Given under my hand at the City of
Philadelphia, the Thirtieth day of May, in the year of our Lord
one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independ
ence of the United States of America the twentieth.

GEO. WASHINGTON.
By the President of the United States,

(SEAL) TIMOTHY PICKERING, Secretary of State.1

1 It is not thought necessary to print the instructions issued for his conduct in
Portugal, for he never entered upon this mission. They concerned the trade in
American flour and the commercial regulations applied in Portugal and her colonial
possessions in America.

i796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 489

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE
[TIMOTHY PICKERING]

THE HAGUE, June 4, 1796.

If the war by land be thus brought to a close, the whole
force and attention of the French government will of course
be turned towards the means of balancing the British naval
force, and of assaulting the remaining antagonist in her only
vulnerable part. For this purpose measures will perhaps
be pursued to raise other maritime enemies against Great
Britain. In Europe, the Italian States, Spain, Denmark,
Sweden and even Hamburg and Bremen may be stimulated,
in various manners to shut the Baltic and the Mediterranean
against the British commerce, and it will best be known to
you, Sir, whether inducements of a similar nature will be
presented to the United States. I have understood that it
was not long since in the contemplation of the Directory, to
send out an envoy extraordinary with a special mission to
America, but that this intention has since been laid aside.

Upon my arrival here, I found an administration differ
ently organized from that to which I was accredited, and
even from that which I had left here the last autumn. The
supreme authority of the republic is now held by a National
Assembly, and the States General have been formally dis
solved. . . .

The president of the National Assembly for the time being
is, under the present arrangements, ex officio, president of
the Diplomatic Committee.1 I visited him of course im
mediately after my return. He announced the circumstance
to the Assembly, who thereupon directed their agent

1 Vos van Steenwyk.

490 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

[Slicher] to compliment me in their name upon my arrival,
with the most cordial assurances of their regard and friend
ship for the United States, which he accordingly did yes
terday. . . .*

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, June 6, 1796.

MY DEAR SIR :

At length I have been released from a situation equally
remote from all public utility and all personal satisfaction.
After a detention which I could not avoid, but which was at
least unnecessary, of several months, I left London on the
28th of last month, and arrived here on the 3ist. The
people there were in the midst of the Saturnalian election
eering holidays. The writs issued for the new Parliament
are made returnable on the I2th of July. The changes will
not be numerous, and the majorities of the Minister will be
as great as they have been hitherto. Such at least was the
general opinion, which was confirmed by the elections that
had been made previous to my departure.

't 1 "Within three weeks after the first meeting of the Assembly, the person who
was mentioned to you as having united almost every vote as their president, and who
has frequently been noticed in my former letters, Mr. Paulus, died. The loss of a
man whose talents and activity had been so peculiarly conspicuous from the com
mencement of the recent revolution, has been, and will continue to be felt severely
by the patriots of the nation. In the accomplishment of the alliance with France,
and of a national convocation to form a constitution for the republic, he had been
essentially instrumental, and his exertions had succeeded at least far beyond the
common expectation in reanimating the maritime power of the country. The ob
jects to which he directed the application of his efforts, were those upon which the
national system of policy depends, and his abilities were the more serviceable as
they are much more rarely met with than those which are engrossed by a contracted
spirit of detail." To Secretary of Statt, June u, 1796. Ms.

i70] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 491

The account of the resolution of the House of Represent
atives of the United States relative to the British treaty,
passed on the I7th of April, had arrived a few days before
I came away. It was brought by the Arab, a sloop of war
dispatched from New York expressly for the purpose, and
which had a passage of only twenty-three days. The reso
lution was considered as the natural precursor of a final de
cision not to pass the laws necessary to carry the treaty into
effect on the part of the United States, and the sensation
which the intelligence produced was even greater than I
should have expected. I confess it made me doubly desir
ous to quit a country, where the malevolence that is so com
mon against America was exulting in the triumph with
which it pointed to the event, as a proof of our executive
imbecility, or of our legislative perfidy. It was difficult to
refute both the alternatives, and I retired with pleasure
from the humiliating task of palliating what I felt myself
altogether incapable to justify.

To all the Americans in England that I met with after the
news of this resolution, it was quite unexpected, as their
accounts from home had uniformly led them to the hope or
fear of a different event. But I cannot say the case was
thus with me, and in my letter of April 4, which I hope has
reached you before this, you will find at full length the
opinion that I then held upon the subject. As a party ma
noeuvre the proceedings to which the House have given their
sanction was well conducted, and indeed it would be blind
ness not to perceive that the operations of that party are
conducted with a skill, and perseverance, and harmony, and
consistency, which the friends of the government seldom
discover. That all the weight of French influence was ex
erted on that occasion is unquestionable. The delivery of
the forts was a thing too much dreaded by them, to be suf-

492 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

fered without a struggle. That event would have been the
death blow to all their hopes of engaging the United States
in the war, and they well knew it was inevitable, if the treaty
did not first meet with non-compliance on our part. Under
the present circumstances the forts will assuredly not be
delivered, and the party who have succeeded in preventing
it, will make them again the watchword of their war-whoop.
You may depend upon it as a certain fact, that the French
policy of the present day is determined upon involving us
yet in the war. From the complexion of the present House
of Representatives I have strong apprehensions that they
will succeed ; if they do, we shall not be found despicable
enemies. But what will become of our national government ?
What will become of our federal union ? I am unwilling
to look the prospect in the face.

If the late proceedings of the House were to be considered
merely as the flashes of anger and resentment against the
British government, whatever my opinion of their wisdom
might be, I should concur with my whole soul in the motives,
and should have comparatively but trifling apprehensions
of the consequences. But the wound is evidently deeper,
the symptoms indicate an infallible struggle between the
popular and executive branches of our government. In
such a struggle what will become of the executive ? Espe
cially if it should get encumbered with such a distressing
war as they are endeavoring to excite. In my opinion it
must inevitably fall.

The system of French government in America is not
changed as far as I can discover. But an alteration of
measures has certainly taken place. The bullying embassy
which I mentioned in my N. 19 as being in contemplation
is now said to be laid aside, and even Mr. Paine's threatened
pamphlet has not yet appeared. He has only published a

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 493

piece upon the English finances,1 which I sent you from Lon
don, and which in his own opinion amply revenges all the
injuries and insults which the United States and France
have received from Great Britain for the last four years.
What the present views of the American representation in
France are I am unable to say, but the final object of the
French system is still to involve us in war and to new model
our executive. . . .

TO CHARLES ADAMS

THE HAGUE, June 9, 1796.

That a dissolution of the union would be the consequence
of a war with Great Britain, I think very probable ; but the
dissolution of the union is perhaps rather a subject of hope
than of fear, to those who are hurrying the nation to its
disgrace and calamity. If there be a Frenchman who gov
erns and conducts the party that now commands a majority,
you may rest assured that neither he, nor those from whom
he receives his impulse, have dispositions at all favorable to
the American union.

My sentiments, I confess, are widely different. All my
hopes of national felicity and glory have invariably been
founded upon the continuance of the union. I have cher
ished these hopes with so much fondness, they have so long
been incorporated into my ideas of public concern, that I
cannot abandon them without a pang, as keen as that of a
dissolving soul and body. Much as I must disapprove of the
general tenor of southern politics I would rather even yield
to their unreasonable pretensions and suffer much for their

1 Decline and Fall of the English System of Finance. It ran through twelve edi
tions in England in 1796, was issued in New York and Philadelphia, and in Paris
(translated by F. Lanthenas) in the same year.

494 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

wrongs, than break the chain that binds us together.1 For
there is no one article of my political creed more clearly
demonstrated to my mind than this, that we shall proceed
with gigantic strides to honor and consideration, and na
tional greatness, if the union is preserved ; but that if it is
once broken, we shall soon divide into a parcel of petty
tribes at perpetual war with one another, swayed by rival
European powers, whose policy will agree perfectly in the
system of keeping us at variance with one another, and who
will at the same time govern and despise the party they may
respectively protect.

FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, June n, 1796.
SIR:

I have the pleasure to inform you, that the President with the
advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, has ap
pointed you their Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal ; Col.
Humphreys having at the same time been appointed Minister
Plenipotentiary to Spain.2 But the negotiations with the Bar-
bary Powers, which were committed to Colo. Humphreys, un
fortunately continue incomplete : there is indeed not a little danger
that the peace concluded with Algiers may, by some untoward
events, be defeated. This circumstance, together with the fact
that no minister is yet appointed to succeed you in Holland, where
for several reasons, it seemed important we should have one, deter
mined the President to postpone the transfer of your services from
the Hague to Lisbon. You will therefore continue to exercise your

1 Among the possible plans for his own future, he considered a settlement in one
of the Southern States.

2 David Humphreys was Minister Resident at Lisbon from February 21, 1791,
to November 30, 1794. On May 20, 1796, he had been appointed Minister Pleni
potentiary to Spain, and held that appointment until November, 1801.

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 495

functions as Minister Resident at the Hague, until a change of
circumstances shall render it expedient for you to proceed to
Lisbon. This expected change may probably admit of your re
moval early in the autumn, of which however you will be duly
advised. In the mean time you will consider the new appoint
ment, what it is in reality, a decided proof of the President's high
opinion of your talents, integrity and worth.

I am very respectfully, etc.

TIMOTHY PICKERING. l

1 The date of Adams' appointment was May 30, 1796. This letter reached him
August 6, and he replied : " As a proof of the President's approbation of my conduct
since I have been in the public service of the United States, and the good opinion he
entertains of my intentions, it has deeply affected my sensibility." To the Secretary
of State, August 7, 1796. The commission, letter of credence, and instructions were
not sent until February 17, 1797.

Abigail Adams wrote, August 10, 1796, that this appointment "was the last
nomination which the President made before the rising of Congress, and took place
after your father came home [to Quincy], without its ever being hinted to him. The
appointment was agreed to, as Mr. Otis informs me, unanimously by the Senate."
Ms.

"The appointment to the mission of Portugal I find from your letter was as I
had before concluded unknown to my father. I have already written you upon the
subject, and I hope, my ever dear and honored mother, that you are fully convinced
from my letters which you have before this received, that upon the contingency of
my father's being placed in the first magistracy, / shall never give him any trouble
by solicitation for office of any kind. Your late letters have repeated so many times
that I shall in that case have nothing to expect that I am afraid you have imagined
it possible that I might form expectations from such an event. I had hoped that
my mother knew me better; that she did me the justice to believe that I have not been
so totally regardless or forgetful of the principles which my education has instilled,
nor so totally destitute of a personal sense of delicacy as to be susceptible of a wish
tending in that direction. I have indeed long known that my father is far more
ambitious for my advancement, far more solicitous for the extension of my fame,
than I ever have been, or ever shall be myself; but I have hitherto had the satis
faction to observe that the notice with which my country and its government have
honored me, and the confidences which they have been pleased repeatedly to repose
in me, have been without the smallest agency of my father, other than the recom
mendation which his services carried with them." To Abigail Adams, November
14, 1796. Ms.

496 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

TO MADAME DE LA FAYETTE

LA HAYE, Juin 15, 1796.

MADAME :

La lettre que vous m'avez fait 1'honneur de m'ecrire, me
fut remise par Monsieur de Lally a Londres, dans un moment
ou,Mr. Pinckneyetant deja de retour a sa residence, jen'avais
aucune relation quelconque avec le Ministre Britannique.

II m'eut ete certainement tres precieux de pouvoir etre de
quelque utilite a vous et a M. de la Fayette. Les bontes
personnelles et les services signales qu'il a rendu a ma patrie,
lui ont donne les plus grands droits a ma reconnaissance et a
mon attachment. Ces sentiments, qui me sont communs
avec tous les Americains, sont encore fortifies par ceux de
1'ancienne amitie pour lui dont tout ma famille s'honore.
Ce fut done avec le regret le plus sensible que je me trouvai,
lorsque je recus votre lettre, dans 1'impossibilite de faire la
demarche qu'elle m'indiquait. Je ne pus seulement que
remplir le devoir de la recommander a Mr. Pinckney, qui par-
tage avec sensibilite le desir ardent de tous les citoyens des
Etats Unis, de toutes les ames genereuses de voir rendre a
la liberte celui qui a si glorieusement servi sa cause.

Quoiqu'en cette occasion je n'ai eu que les sentiments
penibles d'une volonte sincere a vous servir, sans en posseder
les moyens, je vous prie d'etre assuree, que si aux vceux
que je ne cesse de faire pour sa liberation et la votre, je pour-
rai jamais ajouter le pouvoir d'y contribuer, je regarderai
le moment auquel je saisirai cet avantage comme un des
plus heureux de ma vie.

J'ai Thonneur d'etre, avec tous les sentiments de respect
et d'admiration que vous commandez a tant de titres
Madam, votre tres humble et tres obeissant serviteur.

i796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 497

TO JOHN ADAMS

THE HAGUE, June 24, 1796.
MY DEAR SIR:

If the accounts received here are well founded, the House
of Representatives have at last passed the laws necessary
to execute on our part the treaty with Britain, though by a
very small majority.1 There will therefore now be left no
pretext for refusing, or delaying any longer, the delivery
of the forts, and I believe that it will be, or rather that it
has been done. If there should be any further cavilling and
quibbling on this subject, I think our government may con
clude that all hope or expectation of amicable adjustment is
vain, and hope they will pursue such a line of conduct as
will either curb an insolence altogether insupportable, or
bring to the test the importance of our national friendship.

The American citizens partial to the French interest that
I meet occasionally, and the French political characters with
whom I have an opportunity to converse, all foretell with a
confidence which would alarm if its motive were not dis-

1 The vote taken on April 30 was fifty-one ayes and forty-eight nays. "The
treaty to be executed, and a majority of three members. It is I own rather better
than I expected, and gives me great pleasure, because it will put John [Bull] upon
his good behavior, and either keep us at bare peace with him, or if we must quarrel,
will keep the right of the cause on our side. I trust he will now give us the forts, spite
of wishes and vaticinations of you know who [J. Q. A.]. If he does not, I shall be
ready to give him up, and fight him at once." To Joseph Hall, June 17, 1796. Ms.

"I was happy to find that after all there was a majority in that house (a feeble
one indeed), who could make a distinction between the right to ratify or reject, and
the power to violate a solemn national engagement, and who did not think proper to
construe the latter, which they certainly possessed, into the former, which the Con
stitution has explicitly placed in other hands. I own I did not expect to find the
name of Mr. Madison among the negatives of that vote." To Abigail Adams,
July 26, 1796. Ms.

498 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

cernible, and which even as it is deserves attention, that the
forts will not be delivered up according to the treaty, and
some of them undertake particularly to specify the fort of
Niagara, which they say will certainly be withheld. This
confident foresight, however, is one of the party manoeuvres.
They hoped that the House of Representatives would make
such a stand against the treaty as at least to leave its efficacy
in suspense until after the period designated for the surrender
of the posts. They had no doubt but that in that case the
British government would at least delay the delivery while
a question on our side remained, and they were desirous to
secure the benefit of a future pretension that the delay on
the part of the British proceeded, not from the obstacles
raised by us, but from a deliberate and perfidious intention
to make a sport of the most solemn obligations. This policy
has so long been evident to me, that I thought the party in
our national representative body would endeavor only to
delay the resolve for passing the necessary laws, and would
not venture out point-blank against their enactment at all.

As to the good faith of the British government I have just
the same opinion of it that I have of their friendly disposition
towards the United States, or of their commercial generos
ity. They are all upon a level, and Heaven forefend that
our only dependence for their performance of stipulations
should ever rest upon either. But I cannot see what pre
text they can now raise to furnish a further delay, and al
though the influential party among them would rejoice at
an opportunity to go to war with us, they dare not do it
without some plausible reason to stimulate the animosity
of their own people.

I feel therefore almost as confident that the posts will be
delivered up, as my French friends are, or appear to be, that
they will not. I have been obscurely sounded both directly

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 499

and indirectly by the French Minister here, to discover my
opinion upon the article since my return from England,
but have not thought it consistent with my duty to gratify
his curiosity.

But if they should not, upon whatever pretence the denial
may be grounded it will certainly become an important ob
ject with our government to take measures of preparation
for a state of hostility, which will in that case, I think, be
unavoidable, and which will scarce be worth attempting any
longer to avoid.

Our only vulnerable part will be our commerce; but that
will for a certain period of time be very much exposed, and,
while the contest continues, must expect to be totally sus
pended in our own vessels at least. This last part of the
evil will admit of no preventive remedy ; it must follow from
the incontestable superior naval power of Britain, and is
proved sufficiently by the present experience of this Republic,
as well as France, neither of which have, I think, an ounce
of merchandise afloat under their own flags for any trade
but that of coasting, which is likewise very insecure.

Whether the government will have the means of providing
a shelter for any part of the navigation that will be in danger
of immediate capture, I am not able to conjecture. But
there are some observations which occur so frequently to
my mind, that I cannot avoid mentioning them. If they
can be of no service, at least they will do no harm.

It has been, you know, the policy of Great Britain for
more than a hundred years past, whenever she was deter
mined to go to war with any other nation, to begin hostilities
without giving any previous notice, to continue her depre
dations as long as the patience of her adverse party would
bear a continuance of pacific negotiation, and to amuse
with one expedient and another, until the defenceless navi-

500 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

gation of the complaining power has been ruined, at least
as much as depended upon her. You know, likewise, that
France has by dear experience been so clearly convinced
that this is the permanent British system, that in the last
war and the present she has taken special care to be before
hand in the attack. From the general disposition of the
British government and nation towards the United States,
and more especially from their conduct towards us during
the present war, we may be assured that she will invariably
follow the same principles in her differences with us. The
orders of Council of the 6th of November, 1793, are alone a
sufficient proof of their dispositions, and indeed, when the
nature of the British power is considered, the conclusion is
inevitable that the course can not possibly be otherwise.

Let us take it, therefore, for granted that such will be the
maxims of the cabinet, and let us suppose that the intention
to make an application of them to America should exist.
It is apparent that the more the American commerce is
extended, the more it will inevitably suffer from this species
of preliminary plunder. These facts being so clear make the
very magnitude of the commerce into which our neutrality
has led our countrymen a subject of alarm. It appears evi
dent to me that at this moment our people are overtrading,
that a larger portion of the capital of the country is em
ployed in commerce and navigation than it can support,
and that we shall suffer for it, either during the war by
getting involved in it, or at the peace by the exclusions which
will naturally follow from the regulations of the powers now
belligerent.

I am apprehensive that this overtrading will continue,
and have a tendency to increase still further, the longer the
war shall last without our participating in it. Should this
be the case we shall be continually more exposed to injury

i796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 501

the further we advance, and continually offer to the rapacity
of the British navy a fairer object of plunder.

We have no naval power of our own, and from the general
temper of our people I suspect that they will never submit
to the expense, without which it can neither be created nor
maintained, until a bitter experience shall teach them that
in the present state of the world, and with such a nation as
Britain existing, the expense of a respectable naval power
is the price which must be paid for a secure commerce by
every other.

I know not whether our government is in possession of
any means that can restrain the boundless avidity of our
commercial speculators, who seem in many instances to
think that a power which cannot exact obedience is, how
ever, competent to give protection. They will, therefore,
venture upon the wildest commercial schemes, and when
they have brought them into trouble, curse the government
for not helping them out. It is a fact, which the popular
passions would refuse to hear, but which I firmly believe,
that the stipulations in the British treaty which have aban
doned for the present the power of protecting enemies'
property in neutral vessels, will have an operation very
favorable to the United States by checking that excessive
extraordinary trade, which must be stopped entirely upon
the return of peace. The present state of our commerce
may be compared to a boiling fluid which, unless properly
guarded, swells and overflows ; but upon subsiding leaves
the vessel emptied in part of its contents.

I sometimes think that you will judge from the complex
ion of my letters, that my imagination is apt to raise phan
toms and then tremble before them ; that my opinions .have
too strong a tincture of timidity for the boldness necessary
to a political character. And I freely confess that the neu-

502 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

trality of the United States throughout the present war,
until its final termination, is in my mind an object of such
inestimable value, and involves so deeply the welfare not of
the present age only but of all posterity, that I may perhaps
be inclined to see through a magnifying medium everything
that can have a tendency to defeat it. It is certain that
France, and this country too, are ardently desirous to engage
in the war. The principal inducements which have hereto
fore contributed to make France acquiesce in our neutrality
have recently been removed. They were the debt which
we owed them, and their dependence upon us for provisions.
Their present plenty and the prospect of an abundant har
vest make them confident of producing sufficient for their
own subsistence, and that part of the debt that remained
undischarged has been sold to a private company. On the
other hand France has a fair hope of making an advantageous
and honorable peace with Austria, her only remaining for
midable continental enemy, and she expects to be soon left
to contend with Britain alone, whose relative situation is so
advantageous that there is no prospect of her consenting
to a peace, such as the French government think themselves
obliged to require. For it is to be remarked that the situa
tion of Britain relative to France is similar to that of France
relative to the continental powers. The Dutch Colonies
both of East and West Indies are falling one after another
into the hands of the British. And unless France can pro
cure some other resource besides her maritime exertions her
own possessions will meet the same fate. That resource I
have more than once mentioned to you in my former letters.
It is to distress the British commerce by uniting all the mari
time powers in war against her ; or rather by provoking
them all to quarrel with her. This system was pursued with
Sweden and was on the point of succeeding, when the Em-

i796j JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 503

press of Russia interfered in her usual style by prescribing
the most humiliating conditions, to which after some blus
tering Sweden was compelled to submit. The ambassador,
your old acquaintance, de Stael, is therefore removed from
Paris, and the French policy may be considered as en
tirely defeated at present in Sweden. The same terror
of Russia controls the Danish cabinet, which appears inflex
ibly determined upon the preservation of neutrality, though
they are no less indignant than ourselves at the depredations
and insolence of the British. It was but the other day that
they cut out a Dutch or French vessel from the port of
Bergen. The French government complained in an high
tone, but the final answer they received was that they had
been, and should be protected as far as the Danish govern
ment was able, but if they expected their vessels to be safe,
they must direct them to anchor only in the ports that are
well fortified and of strength beyond an insult. Hamburg
has also resisted the French operations, which would have
involved their city with the Emperor. But as France had a
vast number of their vessels in her ports, she has dealt not
so ceremoniously with them, but embargoed them all, and
now insists upon a large sum as a price of accommodation. In
Spain the French views have a better prospect of success.
The differences between that government and the British
increase, and the harmony of the former with the French
Republic is likewise augmenting. The success of the Italian
campaign has laid the princes of that country at the feet
of the Directory, who prescribe to them all their own terms
of peace. It is said, and with the greatest appearance of
probability, that they will require of the King of Sardinia,1
the Duke of Modena,2 the Pope,3 and the King of Naples,4

1 Victor Amadeus III. J Hercules III. 3 Pius VI.

4 Ferdinand IV, who married Maria Carolina, daughter of Maria Theresa.

504 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

as indispensable terms, such stipulations as will exclude the
British from all their dominions. Tuscany is indeed a
neutral power, but will be so much at the mercy of the
French, that the government will no doubt be very much
under their influence. As to their respect for neutral rights,
they may be inferred from what the Commander-in-chief
Buonaparte writes recently to the Directory. He has taken
possession of Verona in the Venetian territory, and of course
a neutral city. But it seems the French pretender not long
since had resided there, and Buonaparte says, that if he had
not been gone before his arrival, he would have set fire to
the city for having the insolence to think itself the capital
of the French Empire.

It is not improbable, therefore, that they will be able to
shut the whole Italian market against the British navigation,
and if so it will become very difficult for the British to retain
Corsica, or to maintain their commerce in the Black Sea.
The French therefore have a fair prospect of excluding their
enemy from the benefit of trade with all Europe, excepting
only the Baltic, and it is the power of Russia which alone
will hinder them from obtaining the same advantage there.
If in addition to this they can equally deprive her of all the
immense advantages of the American market, they think,
and with great appearance of reason, that the British com
merce must decline, so as to occasion a deficiency of revenue,
a loss of credit, perhaps a deficiency of natural payments,
and such a general distress and clamor for peace, as will
bring the haughtiness of Britain down to the modesty even
of a pacification at the expense of many sacrifices ; or per
haps they flatter themselves with the still more pleasing
hope of seeing their inveterate and deadly rival a completely
ruined nation.

It is not to be doubted, therefore, but that France will

I7Q6] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 505

use all the influence in her power to produce a war between
the United States and Britain. What her influence is at
all times, and what her talents at exerting it, are perfectly
well known to you. But there is one cause operating at
present which gives unusual weight to her influence, and of
which few people among us I believe are aware. The public
opinion in America concerning European affairs is in a con
siderable degree formed from the representations of the
Americans arriving occasionally from Europe, or writing
from some part of it to their friends. But it so happens
that nine-tenths of the Americans both in France and Eng
land, have powerful motives both of feeling and of interest
to bias their judgments, to make them favorable to the
French cause and adverse to the British. The motives of
feeling arise not only from the popularity which the ideas of
a struggle for liberty have given to the French, but from the
difference of treatment that our countrymen experience in
the two countries. In the general treatment of strangers
the French manners are captivating, the English are re
pulsive. In the particular sentiments towards Americans
which give the tone to the behavior of individuals, those of
France are amicable and attractive, those of England always
cold and distant, generally insolent and overbearing, and not
unfrequently contemptuous and malignant. It is impossible
for any American having the common feelings of a man, to
be conversant with the two nations, without contracting
an instinctive propensity of good will towards the former,
and of malevolence or at least of resentment towards the
latter. The motives of interest have the same tendency.
Great numbers of the Americans in France have debts due
to them from the French government. Almost all have
speculated, either in the purchase of confiscated estates, or
of assignats or in some other manner upon revolutionary

5o6 THE WRITINGS OF [1796

ground. It is not necessary to reason at any great length, in
order to show that the private interest of all such persons is
concerned in the success of France through the war, and in her
attainment of an advantageous peace. On the other hand
the Americans in England are almost universally indebted
more or less to the British merchants, and they generally
believe that a war between the United States and Britain
would serve as a sponge for their debts, or at least relieve
them from payment as long as it should last, and leave them
in the meantime possessed of the capital upon which the
debts arose. There are some Americans, and they are among
the number of those whose abilities give their statements
and representations the greatest weight, who have all those
motives operating upon them at once, who are at the same
time debtors to British merchants, creditors to the French
government, and speculators in all the French revolutionary
funds, all to an immense amount. These persons as credi
tors of the French government, if not in any other capacity,
have access to many members of the legislative and execu
tive bodies. With all their incentives of feeling and of
interest they are not only stimulated to wish well to France,
but may be sensible that they cannot ingratiate themselves
better than by contributing to the furtherance of the French
views ; and the conclusion of the whole matter is, that the
whole weight and influence of such people in America are
far from being friendly to the peace of the United States.
It is easy to conceive how much energy this kind of com
bination may have acquired, by a regular intercourse and
concerted operations with the principal partizans for war
in the United States, as the force of such concert would be
but the more efficacious for being secret.

There is nothing, therefore, but a peace between France
and Britain that can extricate us from the danger of being

1796] JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 507

sooner or later involved in the quarrel. But at the same
time, it is evident that the state of affairs at present makes
it more than ever the interest of the British government to
avoid a rupture with us. The longer the war continues, the
more that interest will increase, from the double cause of
their constant weakening and our continually growing
strength. These circumstances will not be overlooked I
trust by the American government, nor by whatever negotia
tion shall finish the business relative to the late treaty.
That subject will be of extreme delicacy ; for on the one hand
it will offer abundant occasions to try seriously the degree
of pliability of which the British cabinet is capable, and on
the other there will be some danger of straining that string
too far. By the full effect that is now given to the treaty
on our part, the advantage of justice appears to be altogether
on our side, and if we must eventually try the temper of our
swords, that circumstance will at least afford a great con
solation.

From some of the facts upon which these observations
are founded there may be drawn an inference, that in all
times of maritime war the closest possible attention is to be
paid by the American minister in England to the proceed
ings of the Privy Council. It is upon orders proceeding
from them that all the captures by the king's ships and
privateers are founded, and when the object of the govern
ment is to negotiate and plunder at the same time, as long as
the patience of those whom they injure may last, these orders
arc kept as secret as possible. It should, therefore, I think
be a standing instruction to our minister at that Court when
ever they are at war, to use all the endeavors in his power to
obtain information of the secret orders of Council to the
commanders of armed vessels. I know not how far it could
at any time be effected, but I am fully persuaded that the

So8 THE WRITINGS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS [1796]

day will come when such information, if procured at the
time when the orders are resolved on, will prove of the ut
most utility to the protection of our commercial property.

I remain &C.1

1 "It is undoubtedly true that the violence and rapacity of a superior naval
strength drove this Republic very reluctantly to a war towards the close of our
contest with Britain. It is equally true that this Republic alone of all the comba
tants at that time against Great Britain was compelled after suffering immense
losses to acquiesce in a peace without indemnity, without satisfaction, and at the
expense of great commercial and some territorial sacrifices.

"The present war on the part of Great Britain was at one time justified by some
members of the government as undertaken in defence of the commercial rights of the
United Provinces. The progress of this defence has been to bring the Allies into
a war against each other, and, whether defending or assaulting,"the sole purpose that
is invariably and inflexibly pursued is that of annihilating the Dutch commercial
and maritime power.

"This system of policy is not applied to the Dutch alone, but to every nation
that has a vessel floating upon the ocean. It is pursued with so much perseverance
and ability as well as with such extraordinary exertions of strength, that it becomes
a consideration of no inconsiderable magnitude to the government of every commer
cial people to counteract a project so pernicious to their welfare.

"The object is undoubtedly of the utmost importance to the United States,
because they, from their situation, their prospects and their character, may depend
upon having the whole weight of the policy directed against them ; and because
according to the present state of things, they alone of all the nations upon earth may
rationally hope to possess the means of restoring the British views to a greater
conformity with the equitable principles of natural right.

"As far as the experience of this country can serve as a guide, it does not appear
that the proper mode of resistance against the exclusive ambition of Britain is by
making war without an adequate naval force to meet them upon the sea." To the
Secretary of State, June 16, 1796. Ms.

"I hope it will not be thought impertinent if I take this occasion to observe
that since the United States have acquired the consideration in Europe that the
prosperous administration of the national government has given them, the Euro
pean cabinets have naturally increased their attention to its proceedings. In Eng
land I think it may be taken as a general fact, that the Ministry are informed of
the proceedings of Congress and of the American news, about three weeks earlier
than the American Minister. Even in this country their intelligence is often more
recent than mine." To the Secretary of State, June 22, 1796. Ms.

HPHE following pages contain advertisements of a few of the
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Correspondence of William Pitt

When Secretary of State with Colonial Governors and
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The Life of Benjamin Disraeli
Earl of Beaconsfield

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"THE BEST BIOGRAPHY OF A GREAT MAN EVER WRITTEN"

The Life of William Ewart Gladstone

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Correspondence on
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Selected and Arranged by D. C. LATHBURY

Two volumes. Cloth, Svo, illustrated, $5.00 net, expressagc extra

The work of the Right Hon. William Ewart Gladstone, one of England's noblest
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Two volumes, cloth, 8vo, $7.50 net

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